Two Last-Minute Second Period Goals Too Much for Maroon and Gold
State College, PA - The home team was once again jovial in Happy Valley. For Gopher fans, the last three games have been more like the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
Penn State once again outplayed, outmanned and, most importantly, outscored the Gophers, beating them 5-3 on the strength of a pair of goals in the final 71 seconds of the middle period. The win was the Nittany Lions' third straight over Minnesota in just the last 8 days, putting the Gophers on the brink of elimination in the Big Ten conference tournament and inching them ever closer away from the safety of the middle of the PairWise pack and towards the bubble.
Minnesota (19-16-2 Overall, 10-13-2 B1G) got a big performance from Casey Mittelstadt, who scored the game's opening goal (the first of his two on the night) on the powerplay at 11:13 of the first. Penn State (17-13-5, 10-10-5) responded at 15:39 on Cole Hults' PP tally to tie the game at 1-1.
The Gophers' Darian Romanko took a 5-minute major with 1:35 left in the first, putting Penn State on a 5-minute power play that flowed into the second. PSU's Nate Sucese scored toward the tail-end of that man-advantage, putting the Nittany Lions ahead at 2:35 of the second. Scott Reedy tied the game on a nice pass from behind the net from Rem Pitlick at 15:13, but Penn State struck twice with under two minutes left in the middle stanza, once on a soft bad-angle shot by Dennis Smirnov with 1:11 remaining in the second and again on a bad defensive play resulting in a two-on-one by Andrew Sturtz with just fifteen seconds left.
The goals were deflating, but the Gophers made things slightly more interesting before the end. Tyler Sheehy drew a five-minute major at 10:17 of the third for contact to the head (but was somehow also called for embellishment on the play), and Casey Mittelstadt scored his second of the game and 10th of the season with 5 minutes to go to pull Minnesota within one. The Gophers drew another powerplay on a nice Brent Gates rush just 33 seconds after the Mittelstadt goal, but the Minnesota power play, which had already scored twice on the night, regressed to its awful mean, and Penn State scored with Mat Robson pulled for an extra attacker to salt the game away at 5-3.
Robson drew the loss on the night, and for the second straight start against these Nittany Lions has looked human. It's hard to fault Robson for most of the goals tonight, but I'm sure he'd like to have the Smirnov one back. It will be interesting to see if Gopher coach Don Lucia goes with Eric Schierhorn, firmly ensconced in the doghouse but not a loser of three straight against this PSU squad.
Coming into the night, the Gophers were something like 100% to make the tournament by winning at least one game this weekend, and 97% to make it if they were swept again. Lots of other crazy things would need to happen in college hockey for this team to miss the tournament at this point, but it sure would be nice for the Gophers to play like it mattered and win a game against a team they should be better than.
Minnesota has a chance to even the series Saturday. The puck drops at 6PM Central time and can be seen on FSN+, streamed on BTN2Go, and heard on AM1130.
Go Gophers!
Showing posts with label Game Recap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Game Recap. Show all posts
Friday, March 2, 2018
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Nittany Lions Pour On 61 Shots, Blitz Gophers 5-1
Friday Victory Sets Up 'Win-and-Stay-Home' Saturday Scenario for Penn State
State College, PA - Coming into the weekend, the Minnesota Gophers only needed one point on the road at Penn State to secure home ice positioning for the first round of the Big Ten playoffs.
After Friday's 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the Nittany Lions, the Gophers (19-14-2 Overall, 10-11-2 B1G) may be dreading the fact that another PSU win Saturday means that Minnesota would be headed back out to Happy Valley to take on the Nittany Lions (15-13-5, 8-10-5) in the first round.
Penn State likes to shoot from everywhere, and that was certainly on display Friday night. The Nittany Lions had 21 shots in the first period and 26 shots in the second, while laying back with 'only' 14 in the third for a grand total of 61 shots on goal in the game.
The Gophers, on the other hand, only mustered 15 shots for the contest, and it was pretty clear that the shot tally indicated who the better team was on the night. Penn State was fast, relentless, and won all the puck battles, while Minnesota looked slow and on their back foot the entire 60 minutes of play.
PSU opened up a lead at 8:13 of the first period, when a seeing-eye shot from the point beat Gopher goalie Mat Robson. The Gophers responded at 12:22 when a seeing-eye shot of their own was tipped by both Casey Mittelstadt and Leon Bristedt on its way into the Penn State net. Bristedt was ultimately credited with the goal, his 98th career point as a Gopher.
Penn State scored on a 2-on-1 at 10:31 of the second to re-take the lead at 2-1, and they'd never give it up, scoring three more times in the third to win by a 5-1 margin.
The Penn State win sets up a dramatic final day of the Big Ten regular season. Wisconsin's loss to Ohio State Friday locks the Gophers into no worse than 5th place. The scenarios are as follows:
Go Gophers!
State College, PA - Coming into the weekend, the Minnesota Gophers only needed one point on the road at Penn State to secure home ice positioning for the first round of the Big Ten playoffs.
After Friday's 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the Nittany Lions, the Gophers (19-14-2 Overall, 10-11-2 B1G) may be dreading the fact that another PSU win Saturday means that Minnesota would be headed back out to Happy Valley to take on the Nittany Lions (15-13-5, 8-10-5) in the first round.
Penn State likes to shoot from everywhere, and that was certainly on display Friday night. The Nittany Lions had 21 shots in the first period and 26 shots in the second, while laying back with 'only' 14 in the third for a grand total of 61 shots on goal in the game.
The Gophers, on the other hand, only mustered 15 shots for the contest, and it was pretty clear that the shot tally indicated who the better team was on the night. Penn State was fast, relentless, and won all the puck battles, while Minnesota looked slow and on their back foot the entire 60 minutes of play.
PSU opened up a lead at 8:13 of the first period, when a seeing-eye shot from the point beat Gopher goalie Mat Robson. The Gophers responded at 12:22 when a seeing-eye shot of their own was tipped by both Casey Mittelstadt and Leon Bristedt on its way into the Penn State net. Bristedt was ultimately credited with the goal, his 98th career point as a Gopher.
Penn State scored on a 2-on-1 at 10:31 of the second to re-take the lead at 2-1, and they'd never give it up, scoring three more times in the third to win by a 5-1 margin.
The Penn State win sets up a dramatic final day of the Big Ten regular season. Wisconsin's loss to Ohio State Friday locks the Gophers into no worse than 5th place. The scenarios are as follows:
- If Minnesota loses Saturday, they play Penn State at Penn State next weekend in the first round of the conference tournament.
- If Wisconsin does not win Saturday against Ohio State, they'll lock in sixth place and will play Michigan. Wisconsin can move into fifth place with a win and a PSU regulation loss. In this scenario, Wisconsin would travel to Mariucci to take on the Gophers in the first round.
- If Minnesota gets at least one point Saturday, they will play at Mariucci for the first round of the B1G Tourney and could end up playing either Penn State (with any number of points or with a Wisconsin loss/tie), or Wisconsin (UW win + PSU loss).
Go Gophers!
Friday, February 16, 2018
Gophers Fell #6 Buckeyes 2-1
Gates, Glover score for Gophers, Robson picks up another win in net
Minneapolis, MN - "We've been saying it for a while now: it's playoff hockey."
Jack Glover summed up his team's mindset following a nailbiting Gopher win Friday night at Mariucci Arena. The Gophers (19-13-1 Overall, 10-10-1-1 B1G) beat the Ohio State Buckeyes (19-8-4, 12-8-1) by a 2-1 score in a tight, up-and-down thriller of a game that saw Glover get his first goal of the season, the game-winner at 9:43 of the second period. Minnesota held on late, with defenseman Jack Sadek sweeping the puck off of the goal-line with less than a minute left to preserve the victory.
The Gophers were shot out of a cannon in the first few minutes of the game, dominating the possession and generating good quality scoring chances almost from the drop of the puck. Ohio State drew an early cross-checking penalty when Scott Reedy went to the box at 2:03, but Minnesota deftly diffused the Buckeye chance and went back on the attack.
Junior Gates scored the first goal of the game and 10th of the season at 9:02 of the first for the Gophers. Tyler Sheehy turned the puck over in the neutral zone on a nice backcheck before outletting the puck to Gates along the left wing wall. Gates skated across the line, finding Tommy Novak for a one-timer in the slot. OSU goalie Sean Romeo made the save, but Gates was following the shot, and put away the rebound to give Minnesota the 1-0 lead.
The Gophers increased the lead to 2-0 on Glover's goal near the halfway mark of the second. Glover downplayed his role in the play, citing "great play by our forwards down low, working their D, which is what they're so good at," and a "lucky little deflection," but the senior defenseman should take more credit: Glover stepped around a sprawling Buckeye before picking his spot in the high slot and firing the puck past Romeo for what would eventually be the game-winning goal.
The Buckeyes got on the board on the powerplay late in the second, sending the game into the final frame at 2-1, which is where it would stay, despite 18 attempted shots throughout the period by the Buckeyes. The key play of the third came with the goalie pulled, when Jack Sadek cleared the puck from off of the goal line behind Mat Robson, sealing the game for the Gophers. Said Gates, the last minute was "pretty intense." "Those are the fun ones, when everyone's into it, everyone is up on the bench, there's a lot on the line and we know that. 2-1 game, it's playoff hockey and we know that's how it's going to be come tournament time."
Mat Robson got the win between the pipes for the Gophers, making 21 saves to improve to 7-2-0 on the season. The sophomore netminder has now started six straight games for the Maroon and Gold. Sean Romeo drew the hard-luck loss for the Buckeyes, stopping 26 of 28 shots.
Minnesota has now won three straight after sweeping Wisconsin in Madison last weekend, and has won six of seven overall after being swept at home by Michigan in mid-January. The Gophers have also nearly solidified their positioning in both the top four of the Big Ten standings (the top four teams get home-ice in the first round of the conference tournament), and in the PairWise Rankings, which are used to select the field of 16 teams that make the NCAA tournament.
When asked about what has clicked for the team recently, Gates praised the whole team getting into the right mindset. "I think everyone is elevating their play. Everyone's figuring out their role, and I think we're playing some good hockey right now."
The Gophers square off against Ohio State again Saturday afternoon. The game is at 4PM, and can be seen on ESPNU, streamed on WatchESPN, and heard on AM1130.
Go Gophers!
Minneapolis, MN - "We've been saying it for a while now: it's playoff hockey."
Jack Glover summed up his team's mindset following a nailbiting Gopher win Friday night at Mariucci Arena. The Gophers (19-13-1 Overall, 10-10-1-1 B1G) beat the Ohio State Buckeyes (19-8-4, 12-8-1) by a 2-1 score in a tight, up-and-down thriller of a game that saw Glover get his first goal of the season, the game-winner at 9:43 of the second period. Minnesota held on late, with defenseman Jack Sadek sweeping the puck off of the goal-line with less than a minute left to preserve the victory.
The Gophers were shot out of a cannon in the first few minutes of the game, dominating the possession and generating good quality scoring chances almost from the drop of the puck. Ohio State drew an early cross-checking penalty when Scott Reedy went to the box at 2:03, but Minnesota deftly diffused the Buckeye chance and went back on the attack.
Junior Gates scored the first goal of the game and 10th of the season at 9:02 of the first for the Gophers. Tyler Sheehy turned the puck over in the neutral zone on a nice backcheck before outletting the puck to Gates along the left wing wall. Gates skated across the line, finding Tommy Novak for a one-timer in the slot. OSU goalie Sean Romeo made the save, but Gates was following the shot, and put away the rebound to give Minnesota the 1-0 lead.
The Gophers increased the lead to 2-0 on Glover's goal near the halfway mark of the second. Glover downplayed his role in the play, citing "great play by our forwards down low, working their D, which is what they're so good at," and a "lucky little deflection," but the senior defenseman should take more credit: Glover stepped around a sprawling Buckeye before picking his spot in the high slot and firing the puck past Romeo for what would eventually be the game-winning goal.
The Buckeyes got on the board on the powerplay late in the second, sending the game into the final frame at 2-1, which is where it would stay, despite 18 attempted shots throughout the period by the Buckeyes. The key play of the third came with the goalie pulled, when Jack Sadek cleared the puck from off of the goal line behind Mat Robson, sealing the game for the Gophers. Said Gates, the last minute was "pretty intense." "Those are the fun ones, when everyone's into it, everyone is up on the bench, there's a lot on the line and we know that. 2-1 game, it's playoff hockey and we know that's how it's going to be come tournament time."
Mat Robson got the win between the pipes for the Gophers, making 21 saves to improve to 7-2-0 on the season. The sophomore netminder has now started six straight games for the Maroon and Gold. Sean Romeo drew the hard-luck loss for the Buckeyes, stopping 26 of 28 shots.
Minnesota has now won three straight after sweeping Wisconsin in Madison last weekend, and has won six of seven overall after being swept at home by Michigan in mid-January. The Gophers have also nearly solidified their positioning in both the top four of the Big Ten standings (the top four teams get home-ice in the first round of the conference tournament), and in the PairWise Rankings, which are used to select the field of 16 teams that make the NCAA tournament.
When asked about what has clicked for the team recently, Gates praised the whole team getting into the right mindset. "I think everyone is elevating their play. Everyone's figuring out their role, and I think we're playing some good hockey right now."
The Gophers square off against Ohio State again Saturday afternoon. The game is at 4PM, and can be seen on ESPNU, streamed on WatchESPN, and heard on AM1130.
Go Gophers!
Friday, February 9, 2018
Sheehy's 3rd Period Brace Beats Badgers
Madison, WI - It's about as hackneyed a cliche as there is, but Don Lucia always talks about his best players needing to play their best as the season winds down.
For Tyler Sheehy, who's been quiet nearly the entire season after an All-American sophomore campaign in 2016-2017, perhaps Friday night's game against Wisconsin was a much needed wake-up call.
Sheehy scored two go-ahead goals in the third period, including the eventual game-winner with just under five minutes left in the final frame, to drag the Gophers (17-13-1 Overall, 8-10-1-1 B1G) across the finish line with a 4-2 win over the Wisconsin Badgers (14-14-4, 8-10-3-1) Friday night.
The game started much like a typical Gopher-Badger series of old. Minnesota had the better of the possession in the first, but Wisconsin capitalized on one of their few scoring chances midway through the period to take a 1-0 lead.
The script almost completely flipped in the second, when Gopher goalie Mat Robson turned aside all 23 Badger shots in the second (including 12 on Wisconsin's three powerplay chances), and Minnesota got the lone goal of the period on a tipped snapshot from the point. Steve Johnson was credited with the goal, but the replays showed Brannon McManus deflecting the puck past Badger goalie Kyle Hayton to tie the game at just 1:56 of the frame.
The teams entered the third tied at 1-1, but Sheehy broke the tie early, slipping a rebound past Hayton at 0:39 to give the Gophers their first lead of the game at 2-1. Wisconsin was able to tie just 1:35 later, when Jason Ford took advantage of a poor defensive play by Tyler Nanne to steal the puck and feed Matt Ustaski to knot the game at two goals each.
The teams traded chances as the clock wound down in the third, but Tyler Sheehy again broke the tie, leaking out of the right-wing corner and firing a low-angle wrist shot off of a one-time pass from Tommy Novak past Hayton to give the Gophers a 3-2 lead with 4:48 remaining in the 3rd.
Darian Romanko tacked on an empty-netter at 18:23 to complete the scoring for the Gophers and for the game, which finished 4-2 for the good guys.
Quietly effective, goaltender Mat Robson appears to have taken over the reins in net for the Gophers. Robson has started each of the last four games for the Gophers, beating Michigan State 2-1 at Madison Square Garden before splitting against Notre Dame two weekends ago and beating Wisconsin Friday. Robson stopped 38 of 40 shots Friday night to pick up his fifth win as a Gopher. Expect to see junior Eric Schierhorn get back between the pipes eventually, but Don Lucia likes to ride the hot hand, and Robson has been solid in net for Minnesota.
The win pushes the Gophers up to 5th in the Big Ten conference standings with 26 points, behind Wisconsin (4th, 28 points) and Michigan (3rd, 29 points), but with two games in hand on each of them. Minnesota needs to at least get to 4th place to secure a first-round home playoff series in the Big Ten postseason tournament.
Minnesota appears to have held-pat for now at 9th place in the PairWise Rankings. According to Jim Dahl at CollegeHockeyRanked.com, the Gophers have a pretty solid chance to make the NCAA tournament if they win at least three of their remaining six games, and things start to look iffy if they win two or fewer.
The powerplay continues to be a killer for the Gopher offense - Minnesota is now 3 for its last 50 on the man-advantage after going 0-4 Friday against the Badgers, and are 55th out of 60 D1 college hockey teams at 12.6% for the season. For those playing along at home, that's akin to the Gophers playing five full periods of 5-on-4 hockey and scoring only three goals. The penalty kill was a perfect 4-4 against Wisconsin Friday night, but no amount of PK success is enough when you're clicking at 6% over your last 50 opportunities on the PP.
With one win down after Friday night, the Gophers will look to further improve their PWR and league table positioning while going for the road sweep Saturday. The rubber match is at a more normal 7PM time, and can be seen on FSN+, streamed on Fox Sports Go or BTN2Go, and heard on AM1130.
Go Gophers!
For Tyler Sheehy, who's been quiet nearly the entire season after an All-American sophomore campaign in 2016-2017, perhaps Friday night's game against Wisconsin was a much needed wake-up call.
Sheehy scored two go-ahead goals in the third period, including the eventual game-winner with just under five minutes left in the final frame, to drag the Gophers (17-13-1 Overall, 8-10-1-1 B1G) across the finish line with a 4-2 win over the Wisconsin Badgers (14-14-4, 8-10-3-1) Friday night.
The game started much like a typical Gopher-Badger series of old. Minnesota had the better of the possession in the first, but Wisconsin capitalized on one of their few scoring chances midway through the period to take a 1-0 lead.
The script almost completely flipped in the second, when Gopher goalie Mat Robson turned aside all 23 Badger shots in the second (including 12 on Wisconsin's three powerplay chances), and Minnesota got the lone goal of the period on a tipped snapshot from the point. Steve Johnson was credited with the goal, but the replays showed Brannon McManus deflecting the puck past Badger goalie Kyle Hayton to tie the game at just 1:56 of the frame.
The teams entered the third tied at 1-1, but Sheehy broke the tie early, slipping a rebound past Hayton at 0:39 to give the Gophers their first lead of the game at 2-1. Wisconsin was able to tie just 1:35 later, when Jason Ford took advantage of a poor defensive play by Tyler Nanne to steal the puck and feed Matt Ustaski to knot the game at two goals each.
The teams traded chances as the clock wound down in the third, but Tyler Sheehy again broke the tie, leaking out of the right-wing corner and firing a low-angle wrist shot off of a one-time pass from Tommy Novak past Hayton to give the Gophers a 3-2 lead with 4:48 remaining in the 3rd.
Darian Romanko tacked on an empty-netter at 18:23 to complete the scoring for the Gophers and for the game, which finished 4-2 for the good guys.
Quietly effective, goaltender Mat Robson appears to have taken over the reins in net for the Gophers. Robson has started each of the last four games for the Gophers, beating Michigan State 2-1 at Madison Square Garden before splitting against Notre Dame two weekends ago and beating Wisconsin Friday. Robson stopped 38 of 40 shots Friday night to pick up his fifth win as a Gopher. Expect to see junior Eric Schierhorn get back between the pipes eventually, but Don Lucia likes to ride the hot hand, and Robson has been solid in net for Minnesota.
The win pushes the Gophers up to 5th in the Big Ten conference standings with 26 points, behind Wisconsin (4th, 28 points) and Michigan (3rd, 29 points), but with two games in hand on each of them. Minnesota needs to at least get to 4th place to secure a first-round home playoff series in the Big Ten postseason tournament.
Minnesota appears to have held-pat for now at 9th place in the PairWise Rankings. According to Jim Dahl at CollegeHockeyRanked.com, the Gophers have a pretty solid chance to make the NCAA tournament if they win at least three of their remaining six games, and things start to look iffy if they win two or fewer.
The powerplay continues to be a killer for the Gopher offense - Minnesota is now 3 for its last 50 on the man-advantage after going 0-4 Friday against the Badgers, and are 55th out of 60 D1 college hockey teams at 12.6% for the season. For those playing along at home, that's akin to the Gophers playing five full periods of 5-on-4 hockey and scoring only three goals. The penalty kill was a perfect 4-4 against Wisconsin Friday night, but no amount of PK success is enough when you're clicking at 6% over your last 50 opportunities on the PP.
With one win down after Friday night, the Gophers will look to further improve their PWR and league table positioning while going for the road sweep Saturday. The rubber match is at a more normal 7PM time, and can be seen on FSN+, streamed on Fox Sports Go or BTN2Go, and heard on AM1130.
Go Gophers!
Saturday, January 27, 2018
Mittelstadt's OT Winner Lifts Gophers Over Irish
Star Freshman Breaks 0-0 Tie with OT Game Winner
Minneapolis, MN - After playing good hockey in South Bend in November with nothing to show for it, the Minnesota Gophers were hungry to flip the script against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
It took more than the standard 60 minutes, but in the end the hometown fans went home happy.
Minnesota and Notre Dame played yet another exciting hockey game Friday night, with the Gophers dominating the game for the final 40 minutes of action but settling for a 0-0 tie heading into overtime. Casey Mittelstadt scored 3:35 into the five-minute extra session to break the stalemate and give the Gophers a well-deserved victory.
One cold Friday night in November, Minnesota (16-12-1 Overall, 7-9-1 B1G) put 44 shots on Notre Dame (19-5-1, 13-2-0) but had to settle for a 1-0 defeat behind the stalwart goaltending effort of Irish goalkeeper Cale Morris. Morris, who leads the nation in Sv% (.952) and is 3rd in GAA (1.62), looked like he was going to stymie the Gophers yet again, turning aside all 31 Gopher shots he faced in regulation.
Gopher goalie Mat Robson matched Morris' 60-minute shutout with one of his own, stopping 21-of-21 Notre Dame shots that came his way throughout regulation play. No saves were bigger for Robson and the Gophers than those he made on the penalty kill in the final minutes of the game. Gopher forward Brannon McManus took a tripping penalty with just 2:49 remaining in the 3rd period of a 0-0 tie game, but Robson and the Gopher penalty kill were able to keep the Notre Dame attackers off the board.
In the overtime session, both teams had good opportunities, and both goalies were solid. The winning play was created by Casey Mittelstadt, who poked a puck through a defender's legs in the neutral zone to create an odd-man rush. Mittelstadt entered the zone, passed the puck to Rem Pitlick in the high slot and continued to the net. Pitlick's shot caught Morris up high, and the rebound fell right to Mittelstadt at the side of the net, who tucked the puck home for the game-winner at 3:35 of overtime.
Notre Dame, who had previously cruised through Big Ten competition, rattling off 13-straight conference wins and taking a death-grip over the Big Ten regular season crown, has entered what appears to be a mini-slump of late. The Irish have now dropped two games in a row after losing their first Big Ten contest 5-0 last Sunday to Wisconsin in the United Center in Chicago before Friday's loss to Minnesota. The Irish's last goal was an empty netter at 19:22 of the previous Friday's win over Wisconsin, which means that they have gone 124:13 without scoring a goal.
Minnesota, on the other hand, may be rounding into form. After dropping a pair of games at home to Michigan, the Gophers have righted the ship, sweeping Michigan State on the road before notching the win over Notre Dame. Minnesota's 23 league points are good for T-4th in conference, just one behind Michigan in third and 5 behind Ohio State in second. The Gophers need to finish 4th or better in conference to earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, which will be played on campus sites for the first time this season.
Minnesota and Notre Dame square off again Saturday evening at 7PM. The game can be seen on FSN+, streamed on BTN2Go, and heard on AM1130.
Go Gophers!
Minneapolis, MN - After playing good hockey in South Bend in November with nothing to show for it, the Minnesota Gophers were hungry to flip the script against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
It took more than the standard 60 minutes, but in the end the hometown fans went home happy.
Minnesota and Notre Dame played yet another exciting hockey game Friday night, with the Gophers dominating the game for the final 40 minutes of action but settling for a 0-0 tie heading into overtime. Casey Mittelstadt scored 3:35 into the five-minute extra session to break the stalemate and give the Gophers a well-deserved victory.
One cold Friday night in November, Minnesota (16-12-1 Overall, 7-9-1 B1G) put 44 shots on Notre Dame (19-5-1, 13-2-0) but had to settle for a 1-0 defeat behind the stalwart goaltending effort of Irish goalkeeper Cale Morris. Morris, who leads the nation in Sv% (.952) and is 3rd in GAA (1.62), looked like he was going to stymie the Gophers yet again, turning aside all 31 Gopher shots he faced in regulation.
Gopher goalie Mat Robson matched Morris' 60-minute shutout with one of his own, stopping 21-of-21 Notre Dame shots that came his way throughout regulation play. No saves were bigger for Robson and the Gophers than those he made on the penalty kill in the final minutes of the game. Gopher forward Brannon McManus took a tripping penalty with just 2:49 remaining in the 3rd period of a 0-0 tie game, but Robson and the Gopher penalty kill were able to keep the Notre Dame attackers off the board.
In the overtime session, both teams had good opportunities, and both goalies were solid. The winning play was created by Casey Mittelstadt, who poked a puck through a defender's legs in the neutral zone to create an odd-man rush. Mittelstadt entered the zone, passed the puck to Rem Pitlick in the high slot and continued to the net. Pitlick's shot caught Morris up high, and the rebound fell right to Mittelstadt at the side of the net, who tucked the puck home for the game-winner at 3:35 of overtime.
Notre Dame, who had previously cruised through Big Ten competition, rattling off 13-straight conference wins and taking a death-grip over the Big Ten regular season crown, has entered what appears to be a mini-slump of late. The Irish have now dropped two games in a row after losing their first Big Ten contest 5-0 last Sunday to Wisconsin in the United Center in Chicago before Friday's loss to Minnesota. The Irish's last goal was an empty netter at 19:22 of the previous Friday's win over Wisconsin, which means that they have gone 124:13 without scoring a goal.
Minnesota, on the other hand, may be rounding into form. After dropping a pair of games at home to Michigan, the Gophers have righted the ship, sweeping Michigan State on the road before notching the win over Notre Dame. Minnesota's 23 league points are good for T-4th in conference, just one behind Michigan in third and 5 behind Ohio State in second. The Gophers need to finish 4th or better in conference to earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, which will be played on campus sites for the first time this season.
Minnesota and Notre Dame square off again Saturday evening at 7PM. The game can be seen on FSN+, streamed on BTN2Go, and heard on AM1130.
Go Gophers!
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Late Sheehy Goal gets Gophers past Spartans
East Lansing, MI - Wins away from home have been awfully difficult to come by this season for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Usually a tough draw on the road, the Gophers had only won two games away from the friendly confines of Mariucci Arena (a 2-0 win against Union in the Icebreaker, and a 2-1 win over North Dakota in Grand Forks) throughout the 2017-2018 season prior to this weekend's series at Michigan State. Despite a mid-game 4-1 lead, the Gophers had to pull out a nailbiter, prevailing after Tyler Sheehy netted the game-winner with just 2:48 left in the third period to break a 4-4 tie and send Minnesota (14-12-1 Overall, 5-9-1 B1G) home happy with a 5-4 win.
Usually a tough draw on the road, the Gophers had only won two games away from the friendly confines of Mariucci Arena (a 2-0 win against Union in the Icebreaker, and a 2-1 win over North Dakota in Grand Forks) throughout the 2017-2018 season prior to this weekend's series at Michigan State. Despite a mid-game 4-1 lead, the Gophers had to pull out a nailbiter, prevailing after Tyler Sheehy netted the game-winner with just 2:48 left in the third period to break a 4-4 tie and send Minnesota (14-12-1 Overall, 5-9-1 B1G) home happy with a 5-4 win.
Friday, January 12, 2018
Bad Team Loses to Worse Team
Gophers fall 5-3 at home to the 6th place team in the 7-team Big Ten Conference
Minneapolis, MN - Sometimes when you watch Gopher hockey, it's hard to imagine that they're ranked at all, let alone ranked in the top 10.
This paragraph was going to go at the end, but it deserved to be placed at the beginning: Right now, the Gophers are a bad team. They have no powerplay, they have no offensive spark, they seem to have little on-ice leadership. They returned an All-American on offense and have the best freshman in the country, but they sit 41st in total offense behind college-hockey juggernauts like Bentley and Bowling Green. They dearly miss Tommy Novak, who, despite all the other NHL draft picks littering the Gopher lineup, appears to be the only guy on the team that can actually make plays. They should be better.
Consistently inconsistent, the Minnesota Gophers (13-11-1 Overall, 4-8-1 B1G) had another head-scratcher of a night against the ineffective Michigan Wolverines (9-10-2, 4-7-2), giving up a goal 14 seconds into the game and struggling to find their footing throughout the rest of the contest, ultimately falling 5-3 with an empty netter.
Minneapolis, MN - Sometimes when you watch Gopher hockey, it's hard to imagine that they're ranked at all, let alone ranked in the top 10.
This paragraph was going to go at the end, but it deserved to be placed at the beginning: Right now, the Gophers are a bad team. They have no powerplay, they have no offensive spark, they seem to have little on-ice leadership. They returned an All-American on offense and have the best freshman in the country, but they sit 41st in total offense behind college-hockey juggernauts like Bentley and Bowling Green. They dearly miss Tommy Novak, who, despite all the other NHL draft picks littering the Gopher lineup, appears to be the only guy on the team that can actually make plays. They should be better.
Consistently inconsistent, the Minnesota Gophers (13-11-1 Overall, 4-8-1 B1G) had another head-scratcher of a night against the ineffective Michigan Wolverines (9-10-2, 4-7-2), giving up a goal 14 seconds into the game and struggling to find their footing throughout the rest of the contest, ultimately falling 5-3 with an empty netter.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Gophers Wear Down Nittany Lions, Win 2-1 in Happy Valley
Isackson, Kloos, Wilcox lead Minnesota over Penn State on the road
Happy Valley, PA - For the first time in a long time this season, Minnesota is back on top.
The Gophers (17-9-3 Overall, 8-2-3 B1G) continued their hot streak, winning their fifth game in a row (unbeaten in their last seven) to rise to the top of the B1G conference standings. The 2-1 victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions (15-10-4, 7-5-1) was just Minnesota's fourth road win of the season - the Gophers are now 4-5-2 outside the Twin Cities, and 4-7-2 away from Mariucci Arena on the year.
Happy Valley, PA - For the first time in a long time this season, Minnesota is back on top.
The Gophers (17-9-3 Overall, 8-2-3 B1G) continued their hot streak, winning their fifth game in a row (unbeaten in their last seven) to rise to the top of the B1G conference standings. The 2-1 victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions (15-10-4, 7-5-1) was just Minnesota's fourth road win of the season - the Gophers are now 4-5-2 outside the Twin Cities, and 4-7-2 away from Mariucci Arena on the year.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Buzzer Beater!
Gophers’ Holl Scores with 0.6 Seconds Left to Propel Minnesota to National Championship Game
Philadelphia, PA – Just another classic moment in the Minnesota-North Dakota rivalry.
Whenever you say Minnesota-North Dakota, you know you're in for something special. These two teams have fought numerous battles over the years, with names like Broten and Wheeler etched in Gopher lore for the miracle-goals they’ve scored to beat North Dakota on a grand stage. Tonight, Minnesota fans will add Justin Holl’s name to that storied list, after his shorthanded goal with 0.6 seconds left in the third period broke a 1-1 tie and vaulted the Minnesota Gophers (28-6-6) over North Dakota and into the National Championship Game.
Outside of the rivalry, the game itself was an exciting one, with both teams trading conservative but relentless hockey for the better part of the first two periods. The goaltenders were the stars of the show, with Adam Wilcox stopping chance after chance from a fired up North Dakota squad, and UND’s Zane Gothberg making all the saves he needed to make to keep it knotted at 0-0.
The two teams exchanged chances throughout the first two periods, but neither Minnesota nor North Dakota could break the deadlock through the first fifty minutes. The game’s first goal was scored with only 9:09 remaining in the third period, as Sam Warning scored his 13th of the season from Kyle Rau to give the Gophers a 1-0 lead. Rau skated the puck around the net before trying to stuff a wrap-around attempt home. The puck slid off his stick, but Warning was right there to backhand it home.
Minnesota’s lead was short-lived, though, as North Dakota’s Connor Gaarder scored just 32 seconds later on his own rebound, knocked out of the air, off Wilcox’s side and into the net.
From that moment on, the game was an intense fight to the finish. North Dakota had the better of the play late in the third, and were rewarded with a late powerplay (their second of the game and only the third penalty called on either team throughout the contest) when Mike Reilly held a hard-charging Drake Caggiula up the right wing boards with 1:39 left to go in the third.
Minnesota was able to kill off the penalty until the 9 second mark, when there was a faceoff in their own zone. Kyle Rau, who had been stellar in the faceoff circle all game long, won a clutch defensive zone draw, and the rest is history:
Justin Holl, who had played an absolutely stellar game, found the puck and led the rush up the ice. Holl fed Rau, who fired it at the net with time winding down. The puck bounced off a UND defender and right to Holl, who deftly kicked it to his stick and threw a perfectly-placed shot at the net. The puck hit the inside of the far pipe before settling into the back of the net with 0.6 seconds remaining on the clock to give the Gophers the 2-1 victory! The players rushed the ice and piled on Holl, who picked a perfect time to score his first goal of the season.
Minnesota will face a Union team that beat Boston College 5-4 this afternoon to punch their ticket to the title game. Union is an older team that can beat you with defense and stout goaltending or high-powered offense. The Dutchmen bring the #2 ranked offense into the national championship game, along with the #4 ranked defense. Minnesota, on the other hand, is #6 in total offense and #2 in total defense. The teams are similarly ranked on the powerplay and penalty kill, and both squads like to play a clean game – Minnesota was the fifth-least penalized team in the country this year, while Union was T-36th in the country in penalties per game. All in all it should be a great game between two of the country’s best teams from start to finish. The puck drops at 6:30 PM Central Time, and you can find the game on ESPN for TV and 1500ESPN Radio.
Notes:
Final SOG: UND 37, MN 28
Kyle Rau assisted on both of the Gopher goals tonight. The Junior captain now has 25 assists on the year to go along with his 14 goals. Rau also tallied a team-high 5 shots on goal on the evening.
No official three stars were released, but I would select: 3) Kyle Rau, 2) Adam Wilcox, 1) Justin Holl
Minnesota advances to its first NCAA Title Game since 2003, and this is the first NCAA Title Game ever for Union.
The Gophers are 2-1-0 all-time against the Dutchmen. Their last meeting was on 12/31/2010, when Union beat Minnesota 3-2 in OT in the first game of the Mariucci Classic.
Minnesota will be skating for its sixth NCAA Title. The Gophers last appeared in the championship game in 2003, beating New Hampshire to claim the title.
Philadelphia, PA – Just another classic moment in the Minnesota-North Dakota rivalry.
Whenever you say Minnesota-North Dakota, you know you're in for something special. These two teams have fought numerous battles over the years, with names like Broten and Wheeler etched in Gopher lore for the miracle-goals they’ve scored to beat North Dakota on a grand stage. Tonight, Minnesota fans will add Justin Holl’s name to that storied list, after his shorthanded goal with 0.6 seconds left in the third period broke a 1-1 tie and vaulted the Minnesota Gophers (28-6-6) over North Dakota and into the National Championship Game.
Outside of the rivalry, the game itself was an exciting one, with both teams trading conservative but relentless hockey for the better part of the first two periods. The goaltenders were the stars of the show, with Adam Wilcox stopping chance after chance from a fired up North Dakota squad, and UND’s Zane Gothberg making all the saves he needed to make to keep it knotted at 0-0.
The two teams exchanged chances throughout the first two periods, but neither Minnesota nor North Dakota could break the deadlock through the first fifty minutes. The game’s first goal was scored with only 9:09 remaining in the third period, as Sam Warning scored his 13th of the season from Kyle Rau to give the Gophers a 1-0 lead. Rau skated the puck around the net before trying to stuff a wrap-around attempt home. The puck slid off his stick, but Warning was right there to backhand it home.
Minnesota’s lead was short-lived, though, as North Dakota’s Connor Gaarder scored just 32 seconds later on his own rebound, knocked out of the air, off Wilcox’s side and into the net.
From that moment on, the game was an intense fight to the finish. North Dakota had the better of the play late in the third, and were rewarded with a late powerplay (their second of the game and only the third penalty called on either team throughout the contest) when Mike Reilly held a hard-charging Drake Caggiula up the right wing boards with 1:39 left to go in the third.
Minnesota was able to kill off the penalty until the 9 second mark, when there was a faceoff in their own zone. Kyle Rau, who had been stellar in the faceoff circle all game long, won a clutch defensive zone draw, and the rest is history:
Justin Holl, who had played an absolutely stellar game, found the puck and led the rush up the ice. Holl fed Rau, who fired it at the net with time winding down. The puck bounced off a UND defender and right to Holl, who deftly kicked it to his stick and threw a perfectly-placed shot at the net. The puck hit the inside of the far pipe before settling into the back of the net with 0.6 seconds remaining on the clock to give the Gophers the 2-1 victory! The players rushed the ice and piled on Holl, who picked a perfect time to score his first goal of the season.
Minnesota will face a Union team that beat Boston College 5-4 this afternoon to punch their ticket to the title game. Union is an older team that can beat you with defense and stout goaltending or high-powered offense. The Dutchmen bring the #2 ranked offense into the national championship game, along with the #4 ranked defense. Minnesota, on the other hand, is #6 in total offense and #2 in total defense. The teams are similarly ranked on the powerplay and penalty kill, and both squads like to play a clean game – Minnesota was the fifth-least penalized team in the country this year, while Union was T-36th in the country in penalties per game. All in all it should be a great game between two of the country’s best teams from start to finish. The puck drops at 6:30 PM Central Time, and you can find the game on ESPN for TV and 1500ESPN Radio.
Notes:
Final SOG: UND 37, MN 28
Kyle Rau assisted on both of the Gopher goals tonight. The Junior captain now has 25 assists on the year to go along with his 14 goals. Rau also tallied a team-high 5 shots on goal on the evening.
No official three stars were released, but I would select: 3) Kyle Rau, 2) Adam Wilcox, 1) Justin Holl
Minnesota advances to its first NCAA Title Game since 2003, and this is the first NCAA Title Game ever for Union.
The Gophers are 2-1-0 all-time against the Dutchmen. Their last meeting was on 12/31/2010, when Union beat Minnesota 3-2 in OT in the first game of the Mariucci Classic.
Minnesota will be skating for its sixth NCAA Title. The Gophers last appeared in the championship game in 2003, beating New Hampshire to claim the title.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Near Flawless Gophers Advance to Frozen Four, Will Play UND!
Well, that was fun!
The Gophers dominated the overmatched St. Cloud State Huskies to advance to their second Frozen Four in three years last night.
The final score of the game was 4-0, but what was more impressive than the score was the way in which the Gophers manhandled the Huskies. SCSU played deep into OT the night before so maybe they were running out of gas a little bit, but it seemed like the Gophers were the better team in all facets of the game.
Minnesota got on the board first and never looked back, scoring ugly goals (Kloos 1, Ambroz, Rau) as well as pretty ones (Kloos 2).
If the Gophers can play like they did tonight, no team in the country will beat them. Minnesota dominated the puck, forcing SCSU to the outside. Whenever they got a bad-angle shot off, Adam Wilcox was right on form, eating up every puck and rarely allowing a rebound.
The Gophers are deep this year, boasting zero players with 40+ points but nine players with more than 20 points. Those same nine players (eight of Minnesota's top nine forwards, plus defenseman Mike Reilly) each have nine or more goals on the season. This team comes at you all game, and each line is a threat to score.
The team defense is also astounding - both from the forwards and the defensemen. For a team with D-men that like to get up into the rush as much as the Gophers do, the team ranks #2 in the nation in total defense, which is as much a credit to the outstanding Adam Wilcox as it is to the forwards and defensemen playing great D in front of him, blocking shots, getting sticks in lanes, backchecking hard, playing responsible hockey. The coaches have a system that works, and the players are following it to a T.
Minnesota will face off against who else but the University of North Dakota in the National Semifinal game. UND is a similar team to Minnesota, in that it wins with its depth and relies on good goaltending and mobile defensemen to make good choices. I really like this matchup for Minnesota - UND does what Minnesota does, but I don't think they do it quite as well as the Gophers do.
We've all seen this Minnesota team lose games they shouldn't this year, but I think they beat North Dakota to advance to the National Championship game in two weekends if they play inspired hockey. Against UND, I'm pretty sure they'll come to play!
The Gophers dominated the overmatched St. Cloud State Huskies to advance to their second Frozen Four in three years last night.
The final score of the game was 4-0, but what was more impressive than the score was the way in which the Gophers manhandled the Huskies. SCSU played deep into OT the night before so maybe they were running out of gas a little bit, but it seemed like the Gophers were the better team in all facets of the game.
Minnesota got on the board first and never looked back, scoring ugly goals (Kloos 1, Ambroz, Rau) as well as pretty ones (Kloos 2).
If the Gophers can play like they did tonight, no team in the country will beat them. Minnesota dominated the puck, forcing SCSU to the outside. Whenever they got a bad-angle shot off, Adam Wilcox was right on form, eating up every puck and rarely allowing a rebound.
The Gophers are deep this year, boasting zero players with 40+ points but nine players with more than 20 points. Those same nine players (eight of Minnesota's top nine forwards, plus defenseman Mike Reilly) each have nine or more goals on the season. This team comes at you all game, and each line is a threat to score.
The team defense is also astounding - both from the forwards and the defensemen. For a team with D-men that like to get up into the rush as much as the Gophers do, the team ranks #2 in the nation in total defense, which is as much a credit to the outstanding Adam Wilcox as it is to the forwards and defensemen playing great D in front of him, blocking shots, getting sticks in lanes, backchecking hard, playing responsible hockey. The coaches have a system that works, and the players are following it to a T.
Minnesota will face off against who else but the University of North Dakota in the National Semifinal game. UND is a similar team to Minnesota, in that it wins with its depth and relies on good goaltending and mobile defensemen to make good choices. I really like this matchup for Minnesota - UND does what Minnesota does, but I don't think they do it quite as well as the Gophers do.
We've all seen this Minnesota team lose games they shouldn't this year, but I think they beat North Dakota to advance to the National Championship game in two weekends if they play inspired hockey. Against UND, I'm pretty sure they'll come to play!
Friday, March 21, 2014
Buckeyes Beat Sloppy Gophers 3-1
St. Paul – One team had something to play for, the other
didn’t.
That’s how much of tonight’s B1G Semifinal matchup felt
between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Minnesota showed flashes of their typical
game, but the Buckeyes prevailed to advance to the B1G Championship game thanks
to a Ryan Dzingel 3rd period game winner.
Minnesota and Ohio State played a fairly even first period,
with the Gophers garnering the majority of the scoring chances. Sam Warning hit the post on a Gopher
powerplay about halfway through the period, but it was Ohio State that would
take the first lead of the game. Ohio
State took advantage of their lone full powerplay in the opening frame, as Nick
Schilkey found the back of the net on a backdoor play at 15:20. Although the Gophers led the shots 12-8 after
the first, the Buckeyes led 1-0 on the scoreboard, and Minnesota was lucky it
wasn’t 2-0, as the puck took a funny bounce off the endboards and caromed off
of Wilcox’s arm and through his legs.
The clock wound down just before Ohio State could coax the puck across
the line.
The Gophers would tie the game early in the second period on
a powerplay of their own. Kyle Rau tapped
in a Taylor Cammarata pass into a wide-open net on the backdoor at 4:47 of the
period to knot the game at 1-1. Travis
Boyd earned the first assist on the Rau goal.
Minnesota took a few more penalties in the middle of the period, but the
penalty kill held firm, and the Gophers picked up the pace as the period wore
on. Minnesota had a few quality chances
in the tail end of the period, but the second would end at that same 1-1 score.
Minnesota and Ohio State played a tight third period; Ohio
State with its season on the line, Minnesota wanting to tune up for the
upcoming NCAA Tournament. Ohio State’s
desire trumped Minnesota’s will, with the Buckeyes’ Ryan Dzingel scoring the
game winning goal at 9:08 of the third period.
The Buckeyes would add an empty netter with less than a minute left to
seal the win.
Ohio State advances to the B1G Championship Game tomorrow
night against the Wisconsin Badgers, with both teams playing for something – the
Buckeyes for a chance to extend their season and make the NCAA Tournament, the
Badgers for a likely #1 seed in the NCAAs.
The puck drops Saturday at 7:00.
The Gophers next game will be at the Xcel Energy Center next
Saturday, as the Gophers will be the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and
will play as the #1 seed in the West Regional.
They will have to wait until this Sunday's selection show to find out
who they'll face off against.
Notes & Quotes:
Final Shots on Goal: 31-25 Minnesota
Specialty Teams: Minnesota 1 for 3, 3 shots total. Ohio State 1-5, 6 shots total.
Kyle Rau: “Ohio State outplayed us.”
Travis Boyd: “This is the last two years that we kind of
laid an egg on a Friday. We had good
chances to win the game in the third, but we need to play that way for all
three periods.”
Don Lucia: “I told the guys in the locker room that this is
our last chance at a learning experience.”
On playoff hockey: “You have to deliver pucks to the net when you get
opportunities. You don’t get a lot of
opportunities this time of year. I
thought there were a few times when some of our freshmen didn’t quite
understand that, but we’ll go back and look at the video and have a good week
of practice.”
Ohio State Coach Steve Rohlik, on winning three games in
three nights: “I told my guys that it’s doable.
I’ve seen it happen before [as UMD’s Assistant Coach when they won the
Final Five in 2009].”
Ohio State forward Ryan Dzingel, on the NCAA Tournament: “It’s
in the back of my mind obviously, but we’re trying to take it one game at a
time and play our game.”
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Gophers Lead Late, but Lose in Shootout in Columbus
Columbus – After holding a lead for all but 3 of the first
56 minutes, the Gophers all but had their hands around the first ever B1G
regular season title.
A late Buckeye goal and another poor shootout performance
later, Minnesota (24-4-6 Overall, 13-2-3-0 B1G) was a point short of clinching
a share of the B1G title, and will need at least two points in Ann Arbor next
weekend to guarantee themselves the B1G championship.
Saturday night’s game got off to another great start for the
Gophers, as Minnesota got an early powerplay and capitalized, with Kyle Rau
collecting a rebound on the short side and sliding it past OSU goalie Christian
Frey. Mike Reilly and Travis Boyd
assisted on the goal at 2:32. The
Gophers thought they had doubled their lead in the first period when Tom
Serratore dented the twine, but the goal was disallowed due to Gabe Guertler
interfering with the goaltender.
The Gophers ended the first with a 1-0 lead, and after an
uneventful second period the teams started the third at that same 1-0
score. Mike Reilly took an early penalty
and the Buckeyes capitalized, as Ohio State’s leading scorer Ryan Dzingel
scored his 18th of the year to knot the game at 1-1 just 2:31 into
the third. Minnesota responded only 24
seconds later when Gabe Guertler deflected a Ben Marshall shot from the left
point past OSU’s Frey to give the Gophers another lead.
The B1G title was in their grasp, but Ohio State had other
ideas, scoring with 3:50 left in the third period to tie the game at 2-2. Minnesota could still clinch the title with
an overtime win, but Ohio State had the better of the chances in the OT, and
Adam Wilcox had to stop a Ryan Dzingel breakaway to guarantee Minnesota a point
for surviving the five-minute overtime period.
Ohio State scored on their first shootout shot and Rau, Cammarata and
Guertler were stoned by Frey, and the Buckeyes skated away with the extra point
for the shootout victory.
The shootout loss means that the Gophers are one point away
from clinching a share of the B1G regular season title, and two away from
clinching outright. The Gophers will
need two points in Michigan next weekend (or a Wisconsin shootout loss,
regulation loss, or two shootout wins next weekend at Michigan State) to secure
the first ever B1G crown.
Minnesota faces off against the Michigan Wolverines Friday
at 5:30 PM Central.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Gophers Steamroll Nittany Lions
Minneapolis - There are two ways a team can come out of a
weekend off: sloppy, or rested.
The Gophers were a bit of both Friday night, struggling in
the very early minutes of the first period before finding their legs and
flattening the Penn State Nittany Lions 5-1 at Mariucci Arena.
Minnesota (22-4-5 Overall, 10-2-2-0 B1G) came into the game
nursing a slender one point lead in the B1G standings with two games in hand over
the Wisconsin Badgers, who are idle this weekend. The Gophers could definitely use the points
to regain their comfortable cushion in the league standings, and a dominating
win tonight went a long way towards restoring that.
Penn State (6-21-2, 2-12-1-0) got an early powerplay in the
first and capitalized, taking a 1-0 lead on a bungled Minnesota line change
just 3:12 into the game. Another bad
change led to a 2-on-0 chance for PSU, but Adam Wilcox made a big save to keep
Minnesota within striking distance at 1-0 down.
Early on in the period, head coach Don Lucia was shuffling
the lines due to the absence of Tom Serratore.
Serratore, who dressed for the game, left sometime in the first
period. Official ‘U’ sources say that
Serratore left the game with an “upper body injury”, but that it was
precautionary and he shouldn’t be out for too long.
The Gophers would tighten up and quickly turn the tables on
the Nittany Lions, knotting the score at 1-1 just 7:55 into the period. Mike Reilly intercepted a pass at the
blueline before finding a streaking Sam Warning at the top of the right circle,
who ripped a snapshot past PSU goalie Matthew Skoff and into the back of the
net.
Minnesota would continue the scoring barrage minutes later,
when Hudson Fasching popped the puck in after a few frenzied seconds in front
of the Penn State net to put the Gophers ahead for good. Minnesota would tack on another goal at 16:10
when Fasching, on a breakaway, somehow found Kyle Rau trailing just behind the
play and passed it to him for an easy goal.
Nate Condon would get another puck across the line late in the first,
but after review the goal was disallowed due to an early whistle by the referee.
Up 3-1 after one period, the Gophers would continue to press
their advantage in the second. Taylor
Cammarata scored just 30 seconds into the period on the powerplay. The next few minutes featured a bevy of
penalties, with the Gophers taking four penalties and drawing two in just over
a five minute stretch. Minnesota would
add to its lead on the penalty kill, with Nate Condon scoring the Gophers’
first shorthanded goal of the season unassisted at 12:30 of the frame to make
the game 5-1.
Although the Gophers would have many chances throughout the
rest of the second and the third, the Condon shorthanded goal would end the
scoring, and Minnesota skated away with a 5-1 win and a 4 point lead in the B1G
standings over Wisconsin.
The Gophers will look to complete the sweep of the Nittany
Lions on Saturday night. Minnesota will also
honor its seniors before the last home game of the season. The puck drops at 6PM, so get there early if
you want to pay tribute to Gopher seniors Justin Holl, Jake Parenteau, Michael
Shibrowski, Tom Serratore and Nate Condon.
Notes & Quotes
3 Stars of the Game: 3) Adam Wilcox (30 Saves), 2) Mike
Reilly (2 assists), 1) Hudson Fasching (1 goal, 1 assist)
Final Shots on Goal: Minnesota 36, Penn State 31. Attempted shots were 68-46 in favor of the
Gophers.
Other Gopher Point-Getters: Travis Boyd (2a), Kyle Rau (1g), Sam Warning (1g), Nate Condon (1g), Taylor Cammarata (1g), Ben Marshall (1a)
Specialty Teams: Gophers 1-3 on the powerplay, Penn State 1-5
The win moves the Gophers to 35 points in the B1G standings,
4 ahead of Wisconsin’s 31 and 10 ahead of Michigan’s 25. Wisconsin can max out at 43 points if they
win out, so the Gophers can clinch at least a share of the B1G title with eight
more points. Nine points (three
non-shootout wins) will clinch the league title outright.
Gopher head coach Don Lucia, on the success of the first
line: “The Rau line was good tonight, it’s good to see them get going.” On tonight’s goal scorers: “The guys we need
to score scored goals tonight. At the
end of the year you need your best players to score.” On Tom Serratore’s injury: “He was dinged up tonight. We’ll see how he’s feeling tomorrow and go from there.” On whether senior goalie Michael Shibrowski will play on Senior Night tomorrow night: "There's a good chance of it."
Hudson Fasching, on the Rau breakaway goal: “Yeah, I actually saw him out of the corner of my eye. I was on my off hand so I didn’t really have a shot, so I passed it to him and I guess it worked out pretty well.”
Hudson Fasching, on the Rau breakaway goal: “Yeah, I actually saw him out of the corner of my eye. I was on my off hand so I didn’t really have a shot, so I passed it to him and I guess it worked out pretty well.”
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Gophers Overcome Flat First Period to Beat Michigan 4-1
Minneapolis – Coming off a sweep at the hands of the
Wisconsin Badgers last weekend, the Minnesota Gophers (20-4-5 Overall, 9-2-2-0
B1G) saw their once formidable lead in the B1G conference standings shrink to
just four points over the Badgers and six over the Michigan Wolverines. With the Wolverines coming into town, the
Gophers knew what they had to do to maintain their lead.
A 4-1 win Saturday night completed the sweep for Minnesota,
who extended their B1G conference lead to 7 points over Wisconsin and 12 points
over the Wolverines and Ohio State in the process.
The first period was a sloppy one for the Gophers. Michigan took an early 1-0 lead at just 1:31
of the period when Andrew Sinelli scored his first of the season on a shot from
the high slot. Michigan would retain the
advantage in play for the remainder of the period, looking much crisper than
the Gophers in the first.
Unlike the Wolverines last night, though, the Gophers were
able to score before their “bad period” ended to go into the locker room tied. Sam Warning scored his 11th of the
year at 17:46 on a tip out front off a Kyle Rau shot along the ice from the
right wing boards, and just like that the game was 1-1.
Both teams came out strong in the second, trading two-on-one
chances back and forth early in the frame.
The puck luck started to turn the Gophers’ way in the second
period. Connor Reilly’s booming slapshot
on a Minnesota odd-man rush struck paydirt to give the Gophers a 2-1 lead at
2:53 of the second. Just minutes later,
Michigan’s own two-on-one rush was thwarted when the Wolverine player beat Adam
Wilcox, but his shot clanked hard off the post / crossbar joint and clattered
harmlessly away.
The middle period was full of more up-and-down action, but neither
team was able to dent the twine again until Nate Condon scored at 15:20 to give
the Gophers an important two-goal lead.
Vinni Lettieri curled out of the corner with the puck and found Condon
streaking up the high slot. The senior
captain’s shot snuck through Michigan goalie Racine’s five-hole to make it 3-1,
and the score would stay that way until the end of the period.
The Gophers would further add to their lead in the third
period, as Hudson Fasching struck on a five-minute Minnesota powerplay to make
it 4-1 at 8:37. The three goal lead
would never be relinquished, and the Gophers would skate off with a sweep as
the clock struck zero.
The Gophers have next week off before entering the stretch
run of the season. They host Penn State
February 28th and March 1st, before traveling to Ohio
State and Michigan to round out the season.
Notes & Quotes:
Three stars of the game: 3) Hudson Fasching, 2) Connor
Reilly, 1) Adam Wilcox
The final shots on goal were Michigan 29, Minnesota 24
Minnesota’s powerplay was only 1-5, but they held Michigan
scoreless in all seven of their powerplay chances
Don Lucia, on the flow of the game: “The most important goal
for us tonight was our first one.” On
the break next week: “We have some bumps and bruises, but we should be back to
100% after the break.”
Connor Reilly, on the fourth line stepping up: “Coach sat us
down on Wednesday and challenged us to step up.
We’ve had one or two guys [on the fourth line] have good games, but we
haven’t all been good as a three-man unit before. It was good for all three guys to play well.” On the slapshot: “I was trying to just blow it
past him.”
Nate Condon, on scoring some goals: (visibly relieved) “It
felt good!” On getting “separation goals”
this weekend: “That was definitely key.
It’s a lot easier playing with a two- or three-goal lead than a one-goal
lead.” On the John Mayasich ceremony
Friday night: “It was great to meet him, he seems like a really nice guy. Coach Guentzel came in before the game and
told us his stat lines, and just about his story and Olympic triumphs.” On what Mayasich told them: “He told us to
start scoring more, so maybe his touch rubbed off on us a little. He had enough points himself!”
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Unbeaten Streak Over as Gophers Fall 2-1 to Badgers
Madison, WI –- All good things must come to an end.
Despite a good effort from the Maroon & Gold, great goaltending from Wisconsin’s Joel Rumpel combined with the Badgers' patented brand of opportunistic offense felled the Gophers for the first time since November 24th, 2013. The loss was also the Gophers' first in B1G conference play.
Wisconsin got on the board first, capitalizing on a questionable interference penalty early on the Gophers’ Justin Holl to take the lead. Badger Frankie Simonelli’s shot from the left point squirted under Adam Wilcox’s pads and into the net at 14:47, and give Wisconsin a 1-0 lead.
The Gophers would bounce right back, though, as Kyle Rau forced a turnover behind the Badger net, which led to a Taylor Cammarata one-time goal at 17:20 of the period to tie the game at 1-1, and the first period would end that way.
Both goaltenders were tested in the second period, with Wisconsin and Minnesota trading scoring chances, but Adam Wilcox and Wisconsin’s Joel Rumpel were up to the task, both stopping every shot they faced to keep the game tied at one heading into the third.
The Gophers started to tilt the ice in Wisconsin’s direction in the third, dominating the possession and the shots on goal. However, it was Wisconsin that would score late to take the lead in the third. Jake McCabe danced around towards the slot and fired a shot through traffic that beat Wilcox. The goal, at 13:47, gave the Badgers a slim 2-1 lead which they would never relinquish. Minnesota garnered a few more scoring chances late in the third, including a short 27 second powerplay at the end of the game, but they just could not crack Rumpel, and the Badgers would hand the Gophers their first ever loss in B1G conference play.
The teams face off again tomorrow night at 8:00 CST. Tomorrow’s game is the nightcap of the Big Ten Network’s “Frozen Faceoff” coverage, which starts with Michigan State taking on the Ohio State University.
Notes:
•The Gophers allowed just 19 shots on goal to the Badgers Thursday, tying a season low.
•Minnesota is now 8-3-1 when their opponents score the first goal.
•The Gophers had 32 shots, including a 10-3 margin in the third period.
•Minnesota’s powerplay was 0-4 on the night, Wisconsin was 1-1.
•Minnesota’s 14-game unbeaten streak was broken tonight. The streak, active since November 24th, was the team’s longest since a 22-game streak in the 2006-2007 season.
•My pick for three stars of the game: 1) Joel Rumpel, 2) Jake McCabe, 3) Kyle Rau
Despite a good effort from the Maroon & Gold, great goaltending from Wisconsin’s Joel Rumpel combined with the Badgers' patented brand of opportunistic offense felled the Gophers for the first time since November 24th, 2013. The loss was also the Gophers' first in B1G conference play.
Wisconsin got on the board first, capitalizing on a questionable interference penalty early on the Gophers’ Justin Holl to take the lead. Badger Frankie Simonelli’s shot from the left point squirted under Adam Wilcox’s pads and into the net at 14:47, and give Wisconsin a 1-0 lead.
The Gophers would bounce right back, though, as Kyle Rau forced a turnover behind the Badger net, which led to a Taylor Cammarata one-time goal at 17:20 of the period to tie the game at 1-1, and the first period would end that way.
Both goaltenders were tested in the second period, with Wisconsin and Minnesota trading scoring chances, but Adam Wilcox and Wisconsin’s Joel Rumpel were up to the task, both stopping every shot they faced to keep the game tied at one heading into the third.
The Gophers started to tilt the ice in Wisconsin’s direction in the third, dominating the possession and the shots on goal. However, it was Wisconsin that would score late to take the lead in the third. Jake McCabe danced around towards the slot and fired a shot through traffic that beat Wilcox. The goal, at 13:47, gave the Badgers a slim 2-1 lead which they would never relinquish. Minnesota garnered a few more scoring chances late in the third, including a short 27 second powerplay at the end of the game, but they just could not crack Rumpel, and the Badgers would hand the Gophers their first ever loss in B1G conference play.
The teams face off again tomorrow night at 8:00 CST. Tomorrow’s game is the nightcap of the Big Ten Network’s “Frozen Faceoff” coverage, which starts with Michigan State taking on the Ohio State University.
Notes:
•The Gophers allowed just 19 shots on goal to the Badgers Thursday, tying a season low.
•Minnesota is now 8-3-1 when their opponents score the first goal.
•The Gophers had 32 shots, including a 10-3 margin in the third period.
•Minnesota’s powerplay was 0-4 on the night, Wisconsin was 1-1.
•Minnesota’s 14-game unbeaten streak was broken tonight. The streak, active since November 24th, was the team’s longest since a 22-game streak in the 2006-2007 season.
•My pick for three stars of the game: 1) Joel Rumpel, 2) Jake McCabe, 3) Kyle Rau
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Gophers Stomp North Dakota 5-2 in Regional Final to Advance to Frozen Four
By now you know what happened a few weeks ago when the Gophers took on the University of North Dakota for the right to travel to Tampa and play in the Frozen Four. Minnesota led the game from start to finish, never taking their foot off the gas and routing North Dakota to the tune of a 5-2 drubbing. Gopher goals were scored by Ben Marshall, Erik Haula, Taylor Matson, Travis Boyd and Nate Condon. I'll highlight the individuals that were the stars of the game below, but the more important point is this: the Gophers, a team picked to finish sixth in the league by the coaches, is one of the final four teams remaining with a chance to win the national championship. They will face Boston College, with the winner advancing to face the winner between Ferris State and Union College.
Regional Final: Three Gopher Stars of the Game
3. Kent Patterson - 2 GA, 24 Sv on 26 shots, 0.923 Sv%
Patterson made the game look easy, allowing very few rebounds and making all the saves he was supposed to make. In fact, the only goals he allowed were one to Danny Kristo off of a funny bounce and another to Mario Lamoureux when the game was 5-1 Gophers with just a couple minutes left in the third. Patterson has been the Gophers' best player all year, and in the playoffs they'll need him to be their best player in the frozen four if they're going to win the national championship.
2. Travis Boyd - 1G-1A-2P
Boyd has worked hard all year and has had very little to show for it on the stat sheet. He's been one of my favorite players to watch due to his hustle and his knack to win the puck on the forecheck. The freshman from Hopkins by way of the National Development Program in Ann Arbor couldn't have picked a much better time to score his first career goal, as his tally gave the Gophers a three-goal lead in the game. Boyd was good all game, and the goal helped seal the game. He's well deserving of the #2 star.
1. Nate Condon - 1G-1A-2P
Condon is a dynamic player, and his goal, the Gophers' fifth of the game, was of a style that we've come to expect from the sophomore. He took the puck from the red line and his speed turned a probable one-on-one rush into a breakaway, which Condon put away to absolutely clinch the game for Minnesota. He was solid all game, connecting on passes and making good decisions with the puck, even assisting on the Boyd goal. Condon has added some stickhandling abilities to his repertoire that consists of blazing speed, and he utilized every trick in his arsenal against North Dakota. He was the number one star of the game.
Upcoming: Gophers vs. BC in the Frozen Four
The Gophers will travel to Tampa and take on Boston College, winners of 17 straight and the best team in the country, in the second Frozen Four game of the day. BC is actually a team very similar in style and makeup to the Gophers: they have deep scoring, great goaltending and solid team defense. Both teams like to play a fast-paced, high-flying offensive game. When Minnesota is playing their best, they are the best team in the nation. Boston College is used to playing at their best, but they're a team that is also very good when they play to their potential. It should be a great game! Go Gophers!
Regional Final: Three Gopher Stars of the Game
3. Kent Patterson - 2 GA, 24 Sv on 26 shots, 0.923 Sv%
Patterson made the game look easy, allowing very few rebounds and making all the saves he was supposed to make. In fact, the only goals he allowed were one to Danny Kristo off of a funny bounce and another to Mario Lamoureux when the game was 5-1 Gophers with just a couple minutes left in the third. Patterson has been the Gophers' best player all year, and in the playoffs they'll need him to be their best player in the frozen four if they're going to win the national championship.
2. Travis Boyd - 1G-1A-2P
Boyd has worked hard all year and has had very little to show for it on the stat sheet. He's been one of my favorite players to watch due to his hustle and his knack to win the puck on the forecheck. The freshman from Hopkins by way of the National Development Program in Ann Arbor couldn't have picked a much better time to score his first career goal, as his tally gave the Gophers a three-goal lead in the game. Boyd was good all game, and the goal helped seal the game. He's well deserving of the #2 star.
1. Nate Condon - 1G-1A-2P
Condon is a dynamic player, and his goal, the Gophers' fifth of the game, was of a style that we've come to expect from the sophomore. He took the puck from the red line and his speed turned a probable one-on-one rush into a breakaway, which Condon put away to absolutely clinch the game for Minnesota. He was solid all game, connecting on passes and making good decisions with the puck, even assisting on the Boyd goal. Condon has added some stickhandling abilities to his repertoire that consists of blazing speed, and he utilized every trick in his arsenal against North Dakota. He was the number one star of the game.
Upcoming: Gophers vs. BC in the Frozen Four
The Gophers will travel to Tampa and take on Boston College, winners of 17 straight and the best team in the country, in the second Frozen Four game of the day. BC is actually a team very similar in style and makeup to the Gophers: they have deep scoring, great goaltending and solid team defense. Both teams like to play a fast-paced, high-flying offensive game. When Minnesota is playing their best, they are the best team in the nation. Boston College is used to playing at their best, but they're a team that is also very good when they play to their potential. It should be a great game! Go Gophers!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Epic Gopher Collapse as Sioux Score Five Goals in 3rd Period to Win
In case you haven't noticed, I've been trying to avoid writing this post. Well, here goes nothing.
The Gophers faced off against the Sioux in the semifinal game of the Final Five. As you probably know by now, the Gophers built a 3-0 lead through the late second period before the Sioux came storming back, scoring one late in the second and five in the third to swamp the Gophers and advance to the Final Five Championship game, which they would win a day later over Denver by a 4-0 score.
What you may not recognize at first blush is just how absurd this game was. I've watched a lot of Gopher Hockey in my life, and the Gophers may have played the best game I've EVER seen them play for 39 minutes. Unfortunately, they forgot that a hockey game is three periods long and absolutely tanked in the third. At one point late in the second period, the shots on goal were 19-4 Gophers, and the edge in play was about that wide. Minnesota controlled the puck for the entirety of the first two periods, but a series of goals scored on semi-fortunate bounces gave North Dakota new life, as a seeing-eye shot from the point by Derek Forbort beat Patterson to cut the Gopher lead to two. Then, early in the third, Michael Parks scored a goal on a deflection off the endboards, Brock Nelson scored on a botched clearing attempt by the Gophers in the slot, Mario Lamoureux got another one, Corban Knight scored on a weird deflection, and Lamoureux scored his second of the night on another one off the endboards.
This was really a tale of two games, and the Gophers did not do enough in their portion of the game to put North Dakota away. The Gophers only scored three goals despite putting a ton of grade "A" chances on Sioux goalie Aaron Dell, who was the player of the game in my book. Dell stopped several Nick Bjugstad point-blank chances and got some help from the post as Travis Boyd hit the crossbar on a two-on-one opportunity. When you're dominating the game, you've got to score and put it out of reach. The Gophers failed to do that in the first two periods, and the Sioux made them pay.
Three Gopher Stars of the Game
3. Nick Bjugstad - 0G-0A-0P
Bjugstad did not score in the game, but he had a ton of quality chances and his line dominated when it was out there. Bjugstad doesn't get held off the scoresheet that often, so I expect him to take advantage in the NCAA Tournament.
2. Nate Schmidt - 0G-2A-2P
Schmidt set up the Gophers' first two goals, and his 35 assists rank fourth nationally and first on this Minnesota squad. The Gophers will need his offense in the national tournament.
1. Kyle Rau - 1G-1A-2P
Rau scored the Gophers' first goal and added an assist on the third goal. He always hustles and moves his feet every shift. His 17 goals on the year and 38 points are the most by a Minnesota freshman since Jay Barriball and Kyle Okposo in 2006-2007 (20 and 19 goals respectively) and Jordan Schroeder in 2008-2009 (45 pts). Rau is a vital part of the Gopher attack, and he played a really good game on Friday, the result notwithstanding.
The Gophers faced off against the Sioux in the semifinal game of the Final Five. As you probably know by now, the Gophers built a 3-0 lead through the late second period before the Sioux came storming back, scoring one late in the second and five in the third to swamp the Gophers and advance to the Final Five Championship game, which they would win a day later over Denver by a 4-0 score.
What you may not recognize at first blush is just how absurd this game was. I've watched a lot of Gopher Hockey in my life, and the Gophers may have played the best game I've EVER seen them play for 39 minutes. Unfortunately, they forgot that a hockey game is three periods long and absolutely tanked in the third. At one point late in the second period, the shots on goal were 19-4 Gophers, and the edge in play was about that wide. Minnesota controlled the puck for the entirety of the first two periods, but a series of goals scored on semi-fortunate bounces gave North Dakota new life, as a seeing-eye shot from the point by Derek Forbort beat Patterson to cut the Gopher lead to two. Then, early in the third, Michael Parks scored a goal on a deflection off the endboards, Brock Nelson scored on a botched clearing attempt by the Gophers in the slot, Mario Lamoureux got another one, Corban Knight scored on a weird deflection, and Lamoureux scored his second of the night on another one off the endboards.
This was really a tale of two games, and the Gophers did not do enough in their portion of the game to put North Dakota away. The Gophers only scored three goals despite putting a ton of grade "A" chances on Sioux goalie Aaron Dell, who was the player of the game in my book. Dell stopped several Nick Bjugstad point-blank chances and got some help from the post as Travis Boyd hit the crossbar on a two-on-one opportunity. When you're dominating the game, you've got to score and put it out of reach. The Gophers failed to do that in the first two periods, and the Sioux made them pay.
Three Gopher Stars of the Game
3. Nick Bjugstad - 0G-0A-0P
Bjugstad did not score in the game, but he had a ton of quality chances and his line dominated when it was out there. Bjugstad doesn't get held off the scoresheet that often, so I expect him to take advantage in the NCAA Tournament.
2. Nate Schmidt - 0G-2A-2P
Schmidt set up the Gophers' first two goals, and his 35 assists rank fourth nationally and first on this Minnesota squad. The Gophers will need his offense in the national tournament.
1. Kyle Rau - 1G-1A-2P
Rau scored the Gophers' first goal and added an assist on the third goal. He always hustles and moves his feet every shift. His 17 goals on the year and 38 points are the most by a Minnesota freshman since Jay Barriball and Kyle Okposo in 2006-2007 (20 and 19 goals respectively) and Jordan Schroeder in 2008-2009 (45 pts). Rau is a vital part of the Gopher attack, and he played a really good game on Friday, the result notwithstanding.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Haula’s Four Goals Lead Gophers to First Round Sweep of Alaska-Anchorage
By virtue of winning the WCHA’s regular season, Minnesota drew the worst team in the league for their opponent in the first round. Twelfth-place Alaska-Anchorage, winners of only five games in league play throughout the season, faced the tough task of winning two out of three on the road if they wanted to upset the Golden Gophers at Mariucci Arena for the second year in a row to advance to the WCHA Final Five. Although both games were tight throughout the majority of the contests, Minnesota prevailed on the strength of Erik Haula’s two goals each night to punch their ticket to St. Paul for the first time in three years.
Friday 3/9/12: 2-1 Gopher Win
Friday night’s game was very reminiscent of last season’s playoff games between the Seawolves and the Gophers. Minnesota likes to play a fast-paced, open ice style of hockey, whereas Anchorage can only compete if they force the Gophers to play their game: low scoring, not many chances, slow, and physical. The Seawolves were able to impose their style of play on the Gophers in both playoff games last season, and Friday night they had success doing so again. However, Minnesota opened the scoring in the second period as Erik Haula fired a wrist shot into the upper corner of the net. Haula would add another goal in the period when Nate Schmidt’s slapshot off the post bounded right to Haula in the slot, who fired the puck into the open net. The Seawolves closed to within one with a powerplay goal at 19:58 of the second, but Haula’s second marker would prove to be the game-winner. Kent Patterson did not have to be particularly sharp throughout the game, only facing 17 shots and stopping all but one of them, but when your team is not scoring in front of you every shot counts, and Patterson was up to the task, diverting several quality Seawolf chances and standing tall in the game’s waning moments to secure the victory.
Three Gopher Stars of the Game
3. Kyle Rau – 0G-0A-0P
Rau is one of the rare players that makes his presence felt throughout games even when his name doesn’t appear on the scoresheet. Rau was certainly a presence in Friday night’s game, pestering opponents all night on the penalty kill (and the Gophers were on the PK an awful lot) and hitting much bigger than his 5’8” frame.
2. Nate Schmidt – 0G-1A-1P
Schmidt’s biggest tangible contribution to the game was his shot off the post that Erik Haula put away for the game-winning goal, but he brings much more to this team than his point production. Schmidt is a wonderful skater and frequently spins around defenders to lead the rush up ice. He has a cannon of a slapshot that must be respected on the powerplay or whenever he has the puck at the point, and he’s a good passer who can distribute the biscuit as well. Schmidt’s presence in the lineup is a big part of why this Gopher team is in position to make its’ first NCAA tournament appearance in four seasons, and his play on Friday earned him the number two star.
1. Erik Haula – 2G-0A-0P
Haula scored Minnesota’s only two goals on the night, and was the team's best player on the ice. It seems like Haula has found a new gear, scoring seemingly at will and providing Minnesota with a legitimate two-scoring-line punch that had been missing in the doldrums of the middle of the season. Haula's emergence is vital for this team if it wants to find itself playing in April, so his efforts earn the number one star.
Saturday 3/10/12: 7-3 Gopher Win
For all the trouble that the Gophers had scoring on Friday, they got off to an early start in the goal department on Saturday. Jake Hansen redirected a Ben Marshall shot early in the first to give Minnesota a lead, but Matt Bailey would tie it in the opening minute of the second period on the power play. Then, at 7:11 of the second, two Gophers took penalties at the same time, giving Anchorage a two-minute five on three opportunity that they did not miss. The Seawolves cashed in at 7:57, then again at 8:20 in the shortened five on four chance to give UAA a 3-1 lead. With the way Minnesota had been scoring recently, the two goal UAA lead with over half the game left to play had the fans worried. However, Minnesota would score the next six goals unanswered, getting tallies from Zach Budish, two from Haula, Seth Helgeson and Sam Warning to close the game at 7-3.
Three Gopher Stars of the Game
3. Jake Hansen - 1G-0A-1P
Hansen did have the game's opening goal, but I had honestly forgotten about it when I picked him for the number three star on the night. No player on the ice played with as much energy, or with as much effectiveness, as Jake Hansen did on Saturday. He hustled, hit players, and generally made good decisions with and without the puck in all three zones. A great game from him and a well-deserved #3 star.
2. Kyle Rau - 0G-2A-2P
Rau's picture-perfect pass to Zach Budish set up the goal that started the Gopher comeback and made the game 3-2, and his pass to Erik Haula resulted in the game-winner. Rau is everything as advertised from his storied career at Eden Prairie High School - gritty, tough, competitive, goal scorer - but what's impressed me about him is his passing. Rau passes with the finesse of a veteran, and his passes were what helped the Gophers win the game on Saturday.
1. Erik Haula - 2G-2A-4P
What else can be said about Haula? The kid assisted on the Gophers' third goal with a beautiful pass to Nick Bjugstad, then scored Minnesota's fourth and fifth goals (the game-winner and the nail-in-the-coffin goal), and added yet another assist on the seventh tally. The Gophers score enough to remain in games when the two line isn't effective - with Haula playing at a high-level, Minnesota is a team that can go as far as it wants to in the national tournament. Four goals on the weekend and four total points on Saturday give Haula the #1 star for the second straight night.
Coming up: WCHA Final Five
Up next for the Gophers is the WCHA Final Five tournament. Minnesota, the #1 overall seed, will face the winner of the game pitting North Dakota against St. Cloud State on Thursday night. The Gophers play Friday night. UMD awaits the winner of Denver-Michigan Tech. The greatest tournament in college hockey starts next weekend!
Go Gophers!
Friday 3/9/12: 2-1 Gopher Win
Friday night’s game was very reminiscent of last season’s playoff games between the Seawolves and the Gophers. Minnesota likes to play a fast-paced, open ice style of hockey, whereas Anchorage can only compete if they force the Gophers to play their game: low scoring, not many chances, slow, and physical. The Seawolves were able to impose their style of play on the Gophers in both playoff games last season, and Friday night they had success doing so again. However, Minnesota opened the scoring in the second period as Erik Haula fired a wrist shot into the upper corner of the net. Haula would add another goal in the period when Nate Schmidt’s slapshot off the post bounded right to Haula in the slot, who fired the puck into the open net. The Seawolves closed to within one with a powerplay goal at 19:58 of the second, but Haula’s second marker would prove to be the game-winner. Kent Patterson did not have to be particularly sharp throughout the game, only facing 17 shots and stopping all but one of them, but when your team is not scoring in front of you every shot counts, and Patterson was up to the task, diverting several quality Seawolf chances and standing tall in the game’s waning moments to secure the victory.
Three Gopher Stars of the Game
3. Kyle Rau – 0G-0A-0P
Rau is one of the rare players that makes his presence felt throughout games even when his name doesn’t appear on the scoresheet. Rau was certainly a presence in Friday night’s game, pestering opponents all night on the penalty kill (and the Gophers were on the PK an awful lot) and hitting much bigger than his 5’8” frame.
2. Nate Schmidt – 0G-1A-1P
Schmidt’s biggest tangible contribution to the game was his shot off the post that Erik Haula put away for the game-winning goal, but he brings much more to this team than his point production. Schmidt is a wonderful skater and frequently spins around defenders to lead the rush up ice. He has a cannon of a slapshot that must be respected on the powerplay or whenever he has the puck at the point, and he’s a good passer who can distribute the biscuit as well. Schmidt’s presence in the lineup is a big part of why this Gopher team is in position to make its’ first NCAA tournament appearance in four seasons, and his play on Friday earned him the number two star.
1. Erik Haula – 2G-0A-0P
Haula scored Minnesota’s only two goals on the night, and was the team's best player on the ice. It seems like Haula has found a new gear, scoring seemingly at will and providing Minnesota with a legitimate two-scoring-line punch that had been missing in the doldrums of the middle of the season. Haula's emergence is vital for this team if it wants to find itself playing in April, so his efforts earn the number one star.
Saturday 3/10/12: 7-3 Gopher Win
For all the trouble that the Gophers had scoring on Friday, they got off to an early start in the goal department on Saturday. Jake Hansen redirected a Ben Marshall shot early in the first to give Minnesota a lead, but Matt Bailey would tie it in the opening minute of the second period on the power play. Then, at 7:11 of the second, two Gophers took penalties at the same time, giving Anchorage a two-minute five on three opportunity that they did not miss. The Seawolves cashed in at 7:57, then again at 8:20 in the shortened five on four chance to give UAA a 3-1 lead. With the way Minnesota had been scoring recently, the two goal UAA lead with over half the game left to play had the fans worried. However, Minnesota would score the next six goals unanswered, getting tallies from Zach Budish, two from Haula, Seth Helgeson and Sam Warning to close the game at 7-3.
Three Gopher Stars of the Game
3. Jake Hansen - 1G-0A-1P
Hansen did have the game's opening goal, but I had honestly forgotten about it when I picked him for the number three star on the night. No player on the ice played with as much energy, or with as much effectiveness, as Jake Hansen did on Saturday. He hustled, hit players, and generally made good decisions with and without the puck in all three zones. A great game from him and a well-deserved #3 star.
2. Kyle Rau - 0G-2A-2P
Rau's picture-perfect pass to Zach Budish set up the goal that started the Gopher comeback and made the game 3-2, and his pass to Erik Haula resulted in the game-winner. Rau is everything as advertised from his storied career at Eden Prairie High School - gritty, tough, competitive, goal scorer - but what's impressed me about him is his passing. Rau passes with the finesse of a veteran, and his passes were what helped the Gophers win the game on Saturday.
1. Erik Haula - 2G-2A-4P
What else can be said about Haula? The kid assisted on the Gophers' third goal with a beautiful pass to Nick Bjugstad, then scored Minnesota's fourth and fifth goals (the game-winner and the nail-in-the-coffin goal), and added yet another assist on the seventh tally. The Gophers score enough to remain in games when the two line isn't effective - with Haula playing at a high-level, Minnesota is a team that can go as far as it wants to in the national tournament. Four goals on the weekend and four total points on Saturday give Haula the #1 star for the second straight night.
Coming up: WCHA Final Five
Up next for the Gophers is the WCHA Final Five tournament. Minnesota, the #1 overall seed, will face the winner of the game pitting North Dakota against St. Cloud State on Thursday night. The Gophers play Friday night. UMD awaits the winner of Denver-Michigan Tech. The greatest tournament in college hockey starts next weekend!
Go Gophers!
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Gopher Split with Wisconsin Enough to Claim WCHA Title, MacNaughton Cup
So, this is a little late, but the Gopher Hockey team won the MacNaughton Cup this year. Congratulations on an amazing achievement for Don Lucia and his squad, which had not made the Final Five for two years and had not made the NCAA tournament for three.
I won't bore you with a hit-by-hit game recap of the Wisconsin series. Suffice it to say this: the Gophers sleepwalked their way to a brutal 4-1 defeat on Friday before coming back on Saturday and gutting out a 2-1 win with two third period goals, one of which is my nominee for play of the year. No words will do it justice, just check out the highlights below:
Pay close attention to the Schmidt goal, with the play starting around 1:35. Play of the year.
What the split meant was that, coupled with UMD's one point weekend at St. Cloud, the Gophers won the WCHA's regular season and, along with it, the MacNaughton Cup, an almost ridiculously ornate trophy presented to the winner of the league. Virtually nobody gave this team a chance to succeed at the beginning of the year - the coaches tabbed the Gophers to finish sixth prior to the start of the season, and I predicted that they would finish third in my preseason predictions post (found here) at the beginning of the year. However, even my rampant Gopher homerism could not have predicted that Minnesota would hang a banner by winning the league's regular season. So, a big and heartfelt congrats to the boys - they played well and deserved every bit of their tremendous accomplishment.
Below, check out the Three Gopher Stars of the Wisconsin weekend:
3. Kyle Rau - 0G-0A-0P
Rau did not register a point on the weekend, but he's one of those "motor always running" players that Minnesota desperately needs. He kills penalties well, he has some of the best innate hockey sense that I've ever seen in a player, he skates hard and he's not afraid to throw his body around. Rau is one of those kids that you hate unless he's on your team: ultra-competitive, trash talking every chance he can get and not afraid to back it up with his play on the puck or off of it. He made an impact in this weekend's action, and gets the third star because of it.
2. Erik Haula - 1G-0A-1P
Haula's short-handed goal to tie the game in the third period of Saturday's game was a thing of beauty. Streaking to the net with the puck on a two-on-one, Haula kept getting in close to the goalie until he was able to make a move to his backhand and beat Rumpel to light the lamp. Mariucci Arena erupted with the goal, louder than I've heard for a number of years. It's Haula's competitiveness that impressed me, though. I've been critical of Haula's level of compete in the past, as sometimes it seems like he's going through the motions a la Jordan Schroeder. The past couple weekends have sold me on the fact that this kid wants to win and has the will to make it happen. Haula's goal was one of the biggest of the weekend and he earns the number two star for it.
1. Nate Schmidt - 1G-0A-1P
Schmidt's goal to take the lead in the third period was the play of the year thus far. The only thing remarkable about it to me is that it was only Schmidt's third goal of the season. The kid isn't afraid to shoot the puck and has a cannon of a shot. It looks like he's also developed some moves with the puck, as his deke to get around the sliding Badger defender was reminiscent of some of the great Mike Vannelli moves of a few years ago. Schmidt has been one of the best players on Minnesota's team all year long, and it's great that he finally broke through to score the big goal when they needed it. For a play I will not forget for a long time, Nate Schmidt nabs the number one star of the weekend.
By virtue of their number one ranking in the conference, Minnesota hosts Alaska-Anchorage in first round play. If they can take care of business against the bottom-dwelling Seawolves, they'll punch their ticket to the Final Five for the first time in three years. A WCHA playoff primer is upcoming.
Go Gophers!
I won't bore you with a hit-by-hit game recap of the Wisconsin series. Suffice it to say this: the Gophers sleepwalked their way to a brutal 4-1 defeat on Friday before coming back on Saturday and gutting out a 2-1 win with two third period goals, one of which is my nominee for play of the year. No words will do it justice, just check out the highlights below:
Pay close attention to the Schmidt goal, with the play starting around 1:35. Play of the year.
What the split meant was that, coupled with UMD's one point weekend at St. Cloud, the Gophers won the WCHA's regular season and, along with it, the MacNaughton Cup, an almost ridiculously ornate trophy presented to the winner of the league. Virtually nobody gave this team a chance to succeed at the beginning of the year - the coaches tabbed the Gophers to finish sixth prior to the start of the season, and I predicted that they would finish third in my preseason predictions post (found here) at the beginning of the year. However, even my rampant Gopher homerism could not have predicted that Minnesota would hang a banner by winning the league's regular season. So, a big and heartfelt congrats to the boys - they played well and deserved every bit of their tremendous accomplishment.
Below, check out the Three Gopher Stars of the Wisconsin weekend:
3. Kyle Rau - 0G-0A-0P
Rau did not register a point on the weekend, but he's one of those "motor always running" players that Minnesota desperately needs. He kills penalties well, he has some of the best innate hockey sense that I've ever seen in a player, he skates hard and he's not afraid to throw his body around. Rau is one of those kids that you hate unless he's on your team: ultra-competitive, trash talking every chance he can get and not afraid to back it up with his play on the puck or off of it. He made an impact in this weekend's action, and gets the third star because of it.
2. Erik Haula - 1G-0A-1P
Haula's short-handed goal to tie the game in the third period of Saturday's game was a thing of beauty. Streaking to the net with the puck on a two-on-one, Haula kept getting in close to the goalie until he was able to make a move to his backhand and beat Rumpel to light the lamp. Mariucci Arena erupted with the goal, louder than I've heard for a number of years. It's Haula's competitiveness that impressed me, though. I've been critical of Haula's level of compete in the past, as sometimes it seems like he's going through the motions a la Jordan Schroeder. The past couple weekends have sold me on the fact that this kid wants to win and has the will to make it happen. Haula's goal was one of the biggest of the weekend and he earns the number two star for it.
1. Nate Schmidt - 1G-0A-1P
Schmidt's goal to take the lead in the third period was the play of the year thus far. The only thing remarkable about it to me is that it was only Schmidt's third goal of the season. The kid isn't afraid to shoot the puck and has a cannon of a shot. It looks like he's also developed some moves with the puck, as his deke to get around the sliding Badger defender was reminiscent of some of the great Mike Vannelli moves of a few years ago. Schmidt has been one of the best players on Minnesota's team all year long, and it's great that he finally broke through to score the big goal when they needed it. For a play I will not forget for a long time, Nate Schmidt nabs the number one star of the weekend.
By virtue of their number one ranking in the conference, Minnesota hosts Alaska-Anchorage in first round play. If they can take care of business against the bottom-dwelling Seawolves, they'll punch their ticket to the Final Five for the first time in three years. A WCHA playoff primer is upcoming.
Go Gophers!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Minnesota Completes Sweep in Omaha, Is Three Points Away from WCHA Crown
With UMD charging hard down the stretch to give themselves a chance at the WCHA title, the Gophers needed to grab four points in Omaha last weekend in order to maintain their two point lead in the standings. Minnesota did just that, winning Saturday by a 3-2 count to sweep the weekend series.
Saturday 2/24/12: 3-2 Gopher Win
Minnesota was actually the worse of the two teams immediately after the puck dropped to open the period. It was clear that Dean Blais had his team fired up and ready to play against his alma mater. In fact, the Mavericks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a Brent Gwidt goal at 6:05 of the first. However, just 41 seconds later Mark Alt would draw the Gophers even. The rangy Alt streaked down the left wing with the puck, shielding it with his body as he started to cut towards the net. Alt let a backhand shot go that snuck between UNO goalie Ryan Massa's arm and his body, trickling through and into the net. Although they were outshot and outplayed in the first period, Minnesota did take advantage of their opportunities better than Omaha did. A powerplay near the midway mark of the period was the perfect chance for Kyle Rau to strike. Rau got the puck at the doorstep to Massa's left, and fired it into the goaltender's left pad. However, the puck popped back to Rau, and as he was being hauled down by the Maverick defenseman he was able to fire the puck from behind the goal line off of Massa's skate and into the net. There was no more scoring in the period.
The Gophers opened the second period up one goal, and they would soon add to that lead with another Rau powerplay tally. This time, Erik Haula completed a beautiful cross-ice pass that found Rau all alone with an open net to shoot at, and he did not miss. Rau's second goal of the game and 16th of the season came at 9:24 of the second period and would prove to be the game winner.
Although there was no more scoring in the period, perhaps one of the more significant moments of the entire season occurred just prior to the Rau goal. The penalty that UNO's Tony Turgeon took was a two-minute boarding call, but the hit was an awkward one that sent the Gophers' Nick Bjugstad crashing facemask-first into the boards. Bjugstad skated a few shifts after the hit in the second period, but he did not return to the ice in the third and has been listed as day-to-day.
Minnesota's superior conditioning saved the day in the third period, but it was not without drama. A Justin Holl turnover on a Minnesota power play resulted in a Matt White breakaway chance, and White buried the puck by sliding it through Kent Patterson's five-hole. The goal brought the game to a 3-2 score, but that is where the score would remain as the clock ticked all the way down and the Gophers were able to win two HUGE road games against a good Nebraska-Omaha team.
Conclusion
With the four points, Minnesota clinched at worst the #2 overall seed in the WCHA playoffs. Finishing in the top two is of utmost importance, since the first two teams get a bye from the Thursday matchups at the Final Five, while #3 plays #6 and #4 plays #5. The Gophers can clinch a share of the MacNaughton cup with either a win or a UMD loss. Minnesota's magic number to win the league outright is three - any points won by the Gophers or lost by UMD count towards this number.
The Gophers face a Wisconsin team that is coming off a road sweep of Bemidji - their second and third road wins all year. The Badgers have had a rough go of it this season, with their first line of Mark Zengerle, Tyler Barnes and Michael Mersch along with junior defenseman Justin Schultz being their only real threats on offense. The usually strong Badger defense/goaltending tandem has had it tough this year, as Wisconsin graduated two senior keepers last season and are relying on freshmen Joel Rumpel and Landon Peterson to carry the load.
Hang that banner, boys!
Saturday 2/24/12: 3-2 Gopher Win
Minnesota was actually the worse of the two teams immediately after the puck dropped to open the period. It was clear that Dean Blais had his team fired up and ready to play against his alma mater. In fact, the Mavericks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a Brent Gwidt goal at 6:05 of the first. However, just 41 seconds later Mark Alt would draw the Gophers even. The rangy Alt streaked down the left wing with the puck, shielding it with his body as he started to cut towards the net. Alt let a backhand shot go that snuck between UNO goalie Ryan Massa's arm and his body, trickling through and into the net. Although they were outshot and outplayed in the first period, Minnesota did take advantage of their opportunities better than Omaha did. A powerplay near the midway mark of the period was the perfect chance for Kyle Rau to strike. Rau got the puck at the doorstep to Massa's left, and fired it into the goaltender's left pad. However, the puck popped back to Rau, and as he was being hauled down by the Maverick defenseman he was able to fire the puck from behind the goal line off of Massa's skate and into the net. There was no more scoring in the period.
The Gophers opened the second period up one goal, and they would soon add to that lead with another Rau powerplay tally. This time, Erik Haula completed a beautiful cross-ice pass that found Rau all alone with an open net to shoot at, and he did not miss. Rau's second goal of the game and 16th of the season came at 9:24 of the second period and would prove to be the game winner.
Although there was no more scoring in the period, perhaps one of the more significant moments of the entire season occurred just prior to the Rau goal. The penalty that UNO's Tony Turgeon took was a two-minute boarding call, but the hit was an awkward one that sent the Gophers' Nick Bjugstad crashing facemask-first into the boards. Bjugstad skated a few shifts after the hit in the second period, but he did not return to the ice in the third and has been listed as day-to-day.
Minnesota's superior conditioning saved the day in the third period, but it was not without drama. A Justin Holl turnover on a Minnesota power play resulted in a Matt White breakaway chance, and White buried the puck by sliding it through Kent Patterson's five-hole. The goal brought the game to a 3-2 score, but that is where the score would remain as the clock ticked all the way down and the Gophers were able to win two HUGE road games against a good Nebraska-Omaha team.
Conclusion
With the four points, Minnesota clinched at worst the #2 overall seed in the WCHA playoffs. Finishing in the top two is of utmost importance, since the first two teams get a bye from the Thursday matchups at the Final Five, while #3 plays #6 and #4 plays #5. The Gophers can clinch a share of the MacNaughton cup with either a win or a UMD loss. Minnesota's magic number to win the league outright is three - any points won by the Gophers or lost by UMD count towards this number.
The Gophers face a Wisconsin team that is coming off a road sweep of Bemidji - their second and third road wins all year. The Badgers have had a rough go of it this season, with their first line of Mark Zengerle, Tyler Barnes and Michael Mersch along with junior defenseman Justin Schultz being their only real threats on offense. The usually strong Badger defense/goaltending tandem has had it tough this year, as Wisconsin graduated two senior keepers last season and are relying on freshmen Joel Rumpel and Landon Peterson to carry the load.
Hang that banner, boys!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
