Maybe all the Gophers needed was a spark.
An injury to one of the team's up-and-coming players propelled the Gophers to a pair of convincing wins this weekend over the visiting University of Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves. The Gophers won handily both nights, defeating the Seawolves 5-1 Friday while prevailing 4-1 in a Sunday rematch between the two teams.
Perhaps the biggest turning point of the season so far came in the first period on Friday. With the game tied 1-1 late in the period, Freshman Defenseman Nick Leddy took a heavy hit up around his chin area as he was cutting across the ice just inside the offensive zone. Leddy, who had released a slapshot on the net, was hit hard by Jade Portwood. There has been some speculation as to whether the hit was late - in my opinion it should have been a penalty simply because it was a hit to the head. Leddy went down hard with a cracked jaw and possible concussion and will miss the next 6-8 weeks. This was a big blow for the Gophers, as Leddy was one of the bright young players on this team, but they've got to be glad that his injury A) wasn't a season- or career-threatening injury, and B) came early in the year rather than at the end. Leddy should be back right around the Dodge Holiday Classic, which is also when we'll see newcomer Jacob Cepis for the first time.
In the meantime, the Leddy injury really seemed to rally the Gophers into the rest of the weekend. They outscored Alaska-Anchorage 3-0 in the second period and 8-1 from the second period of Friday's game to the end of the game on Sunday. Tony Lucia had a great night on Friday, coming up with the go-ahead goal on a shorthanded breakaway and adding another shorthanded goal in the third period to put the Gophers up 5-1. Also scoring Friday were Kevin Wehrs and Zach Budish. Both goals were the players' first collegiate goals. Congratulations to Kevin and Zach! The other Gopher goal scorer on Friday night was Aaron Ness, who scored the first goal of the game.
Flying a little under the radar all weekend was Gopher goaltender Alex Kangas, who was impressive both nights in limiting the Seawolves to just two goals on 55 total shots over the two-game series. Kangas was solid between the pipes in both games, while at times showing flashes of brilliance in coming up with critical stops at key points in each game.
The three Gopher stars from Friday's game are:
3. Alex Kangas
Kangas, as mentioned above, made all the saves he needed to make and probably a few that he shouldn't have Friday night. Kangas was a crucial component of the Gophers' penalty killing efforts, and his solid play was the foundation that the Gophers built their Friday win upon.
2. Taylor Matson
This kid is in the three stars every night because he deserves to be. He puts in outstanding effort for 60 minutes every night. Matson made the play that resulted in the first Lucia goal, and he was making plays on the ice every chance he got.
1. Tony Lucia
Lucia scored two shorthanded goals on Friday night while adding the lone assist in the Wehrs goal. Lucia was his usual gritty, grinding self, and he was rewarded for it with a pair of goals and a three-point night overall. Scoring the very important second goal of the game for the Gophers, Lucia was the #1 star for the team.
Near the end of the game, some skirmishes broke out as some UAA players repeatedly took runs at Jordan Schroeder. While I hate fighting in hockey, it was good to see players like Mike Hoeffel, Jay Barriball and Seth Helgeson step up and defend their teammates. I think the Gophers got some momentum from these scuffles and brought it into the game on Sunday.
Sunday:
While the Gophers dominated the score of the Sunday tilt winning 4-1, the play was not nearly as crisp as it was on Friday. Other than the many penalties the Gophers took, Friday's game saw a relatively sharp Gopher team - passes were tape-to-tape, players were skating hard, etc. Sunday's game, though, was sloppier than I'd like to see. This kind of blurry around the edges play will not hold up against good teams like Wisconsin, Denver and North Dakota.
That being said, though, the Gophers did find a way to put the puck in the net, which is something that had been sorely lacking this season.
Patrick White scored his first goal of the year and has surprisingly looked an all-around better player of late, Tony Lucia added another goal and assist to his burgeoning point total, and again Alex Kangas was quietly very effective, allowing only one goal on a tip in that the referees had to review to see if it was played with a high stick (it apparently was not).
I also really liked the play of Sophomore Defenseman Aaron Ness. Now, I am a big Ness fan and am very happy about the maturation process he's undergone offensively, but a comment made recently on one of my earlier blog postings has had me looking especially at Ness' defensive abilities this weekend. I saw Ness battling for the puck in the corners and behind the net, using his quickness and exceptional hands to make up for any size or strength advantage he may give up to opposing players vying for the puck. He did leave some lanes for opposing players to skate into, but Ness always had his eyes on the play and was stepping into the play before it happened, just not at the first instant that he could have. I thought that was more because Ness was a patient defender than because he was soft. All-in-all, I could not be happier with Ness' development thus far. He's dramatically improved on offense by injecting himself into the play far more often than he had been last year, and he's quick enough and smart enough to be a competent if not very good defender too.
Here are the three Gopher stars from Sunday's game:
3. Aaron Ness
I noticed Ness a lot on Saturday, and not just because I was looking for him especially. He was controlling the puck down along the halfwall and even behind the goal line at times on the power play, and he never seems to make a stupid play. I believe that Ness has the quickness, skill, hands and smarts to become one of the great Gopher defenseman in recent history, and if he stays four years he could join the ranks of Gopher greats like Jordan Leopold, Paul Martin, Keith Ballard, Mike Crowley, Todd Richards, etc.
2. Jordan Schroeder
Schroeder picked up a couple assists in the Gophers' 4-1 win on Sunday, but his play the entire game led me to believe that he's on his way back to last year's form. Schroeder controlled the game when he had the puck, skating circles around defending players and showing his unique ability to skate around until he can make a pass that will give the receiving player a great chance to score. Schroeder still needs to shake the rust off of his shot - he continually shoots the puck high and wide - but once that happens Schroeder and the Gophers will see a boost in scoring.
1. Patrick White
White scored his first goal of the season Sunday, and it happened to be the all-important first goal of the game. More importantly, though, White played a very positive game both Friday and Sunday and made his presence felt on the ice. It appears that White has finally made that jump in development and is able to rein in some of his own prodigious potential. Once White can start garnering some confidence, I firmly believe that he will have a breakout year this season and score lots of goals for this Gopher team.
The Gophers travel to Madison to take on a tough Badger team this upcoming weekend. Look for a preview of that series tomorrow night!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Gopher 0-fer: Gophs Fall 3-0 Twice to Visiting Pios
Perhaps the Pioneers really are the team that garnered nearly all of the first place votes in this year's preseason poll. Or perhaps the Gophers just aren't that good.
I think it's a little of both.
The Gophs fell 3-0 on two separate nights to the Denver University Pioneers this weekend. Sorry for the delay in the posts - I was in Palo Alto on business and not able to watch the games. I taped them both and just finished watching the end of the Saturday game. I wish I had just allowed last weekend to evaporate into thin air and had not known about the Gophers' ineptitude over the series. Alas, somewhere my sadistic psyche had to intervene and forced me to follow minute after painstaking minute.
But, I digress.
I actually thought the Gophers played pretty well in the first game, clearly winning the first period and playing the Pioneers about even in the second period despite being outscored 2-0. I would say that the third period was about even again, and I would give the complete edge in the gameplay to the Gophers in Friday's contest. They hustled and played with the consensus pre-season MacNaughton winners. Alex Kangas played well, stopping 31 of the 33 shots he faced, despite coming away with another tough-luck loss. The Gophers have now scored 0 goals in front of Kangas this year.
The Saturday game saw the Pioneers take the game to the Gophers a little more. I would give the edge to the Pioneers in every period of the game. The Gophers had a few sparks of life in opportunities by Aaron Ness and Mike Hoeffel, but just could not get the puck past Denver goalie Marc Cheverie, who stopped 30 shots each night for the visiting Pioneers en route to the first consecutive shutouts against the Gophers since 1930.
Since I don't want to go through the hours-long task of finding three Gopher stars each night for this horrendous weekend's 3 stars feature, I'll provide a three Gopher stars of the whole weekend. That way we can quickly get the series behind us and focus on the upcoming series with Alaska Anchorage.
3. Patrick White
I thought White did a nice job of injecting some hustle and providing an offensive spark, especially in the Saturday game. White was (unusually) visible over the weekend, and hopefully he can remain that way for the rest of the season.
2. Aaron Ness
Ness had a couple great rushes over the weekend, and even once found himself the recipient of a one-time pass right in the slot which he fired on target (Cheverie saved it, of course). However, the point is that Ness, now a 19 year old Sophomore, would never have been seen in the slot last year. Ness, maturing offesnively as a hockey player, has always been an excellent skater and passer. Seeing this kind of spark from Ness shows me that this kid is for real, and will be an important contributer to this Gopher hockey team.
1. Mike Hoeffel
Hoeffel again proved to me that he has to score for this Gopher team to put the engine into gear. Hoeffel had plenty of grade-A chances this weekend (a positive sign), but has to finish some of the chances if the team is going to get going offensively. Hoeffel is the type of player that can take over a game by himself, and he has shown some signs this year that he can be that go-to player that the Gophers so desperately need right now. He just needs to step it up and start finishing on his chances.
So far, Don Lucia's "scoring by committee" approach has not yielded great results: the Gophers have scored in one of four games this season, and only two different Gophers have scored goals (both top line players). I also believe it is Lucia that runs the Gophers special-teams operations; a special teams that has not scored on 18 power plays (they're actually negative total goals on the power play this year as North Dakota scored a shorthanded goal against the Gophers in the first game of the year) and has not been as effective on the penalty kill as the team had been over the past several seasons (one of the few shining strongsuits of the teams from the last several years, in my opinion). I'm not saying Donny should be packing his bags here, but I do think that Coach Lucia should be in the hot seat if the Gophers miss the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. Hopefully it won't come to that.
As mentioned earlier, the Gophers face the University of Alaska - Anchorage this weekend. The games will take place on Friday and Sunday as the Gopher football team plays host to the Spartans of Michigan State Saturday night at TCF Bank Stadium. Here's hoping for four HUGE points - or at least a couple goals - against the Seawolves this weekend.
I think it's a little of both.
The Gophs fell 3-0 on two separate nights to the Denver University Pioneers this weekend. Sorry for the delay in the posts - I was in Palo Alto on business and not able to watch the games. I taped them both and just finished watching the end of the Saturday game. I wish I had just allowed last weekend to evaporate into thin air and had not known about the Gophers' ineptitude over the series. Alas, somewhere my sadistic psyche had to intervene and forced me to follow minute after painstaking minute.
But, I digress.
I actually thought the Gophers played pretty well in the first game, clearly winning the first period and playing the Pioneers about even in the second period despite being outscored 2-0. I would say that the third period was about even again, and I would give the complete edge in the gameplay to the Gophers in Friday's contest. They hustled and played with the consensus pre-season MacNaughton winners. Alex Kangas played well, stopping 31 of the 33 shots he faced, despite coming away with another tough-luck loss. The Gophers have now scored 0 goals in front of Kangas this year.
The Saturday game saw the Pioneers take the game to the Gophers a little more. I would give the edge to the Pioneers in every period of the game. The Gophers had a few sparks of life in opportunities by Aaron Ness and Mike Hoeffel, but just could not get the puck past Denver goalie Marc Cheverie, who stopped 30 shots each night for the visiting Pioneers en route to the first consecutive shutouts against the Gophers since 1930.
Since I don't want to go through the hours-long task of finding three Gopher stars each night for this horrendous weekend's 3 stars feature, I'll provide a three Gopher stars of the whole weekend. That way we can quickly get the series behind us and focus on the upcoming series with Alaska Anchorage.
3. Patrick White
I thought White did a nice job of injecting some hustle and providing an offensive spark, especially in the Saturday game. White was (unusually) visible over the weekend, and hopefully he can remain that way for the rest of the season.
2. Aaron Ness
Ness had a couple great rushes over the weekend, and even once found himself the recipient of a one-time pass right in the slot which he fired on target (Cheverie saved it, of course). However, the point is that Ness, now a 19 year old Sophomore, would never have been seen in the slot last year. Ness, maturing offesnively as a hockey player, has always been an excellent skater and passer. Seeing this kind of spark from Ness shows me that this kid is for real, and will be an important contributer to this Gopher hockey team.
1. Mike Hoeffel
Hoeffel again proved to me that he has to score for this Gopher team to put the engine into gear. Hoeffel had plenty of grade-A chances this weekend (a positive sign), but has to finish some of the chances if the team is going to get going offensively. Hoeffel is the type of player that can take over a game by himself, and he has shown some signs this year that he can be that go-to player that the Gophers so desperately need right now. He just needs to step it up and start finishing on his chances.
So far, Don Lucia's "scoring by committee" approach has not yielded great results: the Gophers have scored in one of four games this season, and only two different Gophers have scored goals (both top line players). I also believe it is Lucia that runs the Gophers special-teams operations; a special teams that has not scored on 18 power plays (they're actually negative total goals on the power play this year as North Dakota scored a shorthanded goal against the Gophers in the first game of the year) and has not been as effective on the penalty kill as the team had been over the past several seasons (one of the few shining strongsuits of the teams from the last several years, in my opinion). I'm not saying Donny should be packing his bags here, but I do think that Coach Lucia should be in the hot seat if the Gophers miss the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. Hopefully it won't come to that.
As mentioned earlier, the Gophers face the University of Alaska - Anchorage this weekend. The games will take place on Friday and Sunday as the Gopher football team plays host to the Spartans of Michigan State Saturday night at TCF Bank Stadium. Here's hoping for four HUGE points - or at least a couple goals - against the Seawolves this weekend.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Gophers Salvage 1 Point out of Grand Forks Weekend, Tie Sioux 3-3 Saturday
The Gophers played a much better game Saturday night, coming away with a 3-3 draw against the hometown Sioux of the University of North Dakota.
The Gophers got on the board first, with Jay Barriball beating UND goalie Brad Eidsness high glove side on a two-on-one rush. Barriball elected to take the shot himself and put the puck past Eidsness. The goal, the Gophers first of the year at 6:20 of the period, was unassisted. Don Lucia went with sophomore goaltender Kent Patterson in the second game of the series. Patterson came up strong in the first period, stopping all 13 shots he faced.
The second period has been tough for the Gophers over the past couple years, and it was looking to be that way in this game as well. North Dakota came out firing, and drew an early power play which they capitalized on when Chay Genoway scored at 2:46 of the period on a shot off of Aaron Ness' kneecap, tying the game up at one goal a piece. Assists to Danny Kristo and Christian VandeVelde. The Sioux took the momentum of that goal right to the Gophers and drew another penalty just a few minutes later. On the ensuing power play, Chay Genoway struck paydirt again, tucking in his own shot that glanced off the pipe and behind Gopher goalie Patterson. It was Genoway's third power play goal of the year, and it came at 6:55 of the period. The Sioux continued their dominance, drawing yet another penalty at about the midway point of the period. This time, however, the Gophers struck back. The opportunistic Taylor Matson chipped the puck past a Sioux defender and rushed it up the rink, feeding Mike Hoeffel for a one-time shot that beat goaltender Eidsness and tied the game up at 2-2. The goal was a nice boost for the Gophers, who rode the wave of momentum the rest of the period and looked much better from that point on in.
The Gophers really came out firing in the third period, and took it to the Sioux. They had a lot of nice offensive-zone posession and several nice scoring opportunities. It was a period with a lot of up-and-down action, with the Gophers getting the better of the chances. The Gophs finally captialized when Mike Hoeffel knocked in a Patrick White rebound off the endboards, giving the Gophers a huge 3-2 lead. Ryan Flynn was credited the second assist at 11:52 of the third period. The Sioux, down but not out, did not give up, and at 13:10 tied the game up on a seeing-eye shot that somehow found the back of the net from Jake Marto. The assists went to Darcy Zajac and Mario Lamoureux.
The rest of the third period was action-packed, including several great scoring chances. The Gophers had a shot at an empty net with about a minute to go, but a Sioux defenseman was able to kick the puck away in the crease.
The game moved into overtime, where neither team really had a great scoring chance. It ended in a 3-3 tie, with the final shot total ending up at 34-19 in favor of the Sioux. The Gophers got one point out of the weekend with a loss on Friday and a tie on Saturday.
Last night's 3 Gopher Stars of the Game:
3) Jay Barriball
Barriball scored the all-important first goal of the game and, more importantly, the first Gopher goal of the year. The Gophs needed a spark to get this game off on the right foot, and Barriball provided it, putting a great shot past Eidsness for the goal. All-around nice performance from Barriball.
2) Mike Hoeffel
Hoeffel scored the Gophers' second and third goals of the game, but other than that the big winger seemed pretty invisible on the ice. No doubt the goals were huge boosts for this Gopher team, but Hoeffel will need to assert himself in every aspect of the game - mucking it up in the corners, being an asset in front of the net, playing keep-away on the penalty kill - if he can carry this Gopher team on his broad shoulders.
1) Taylor Matson
Matson was once again the best Gopher skater on the ice last night, providing great uptempo skating and a much needed burst of energy. Matson did all the work on Hoeffel's shorthanded goal, and on the power play, penalty kill and 5-on-5 he took control of the game. Matson is a real treat to watch and, if his energy level and desire to win can be infectious, he should be able to spark the Gophers to a great season.
The Gophers next face Denver at Mariucci Arena. The games are this upcoming Friday and Saturday. The puck drops at 7:00.
The Gophers got on the board first, with Jay Barriball beating UND goalie Brad Eidsness high glove side on a two-on-one rush. Barriball elected to take the shot himself and put the puck past Eidsness. The goal, the Gophers first of the year at 6:20 of the period, was unassisted. Don Lucia went with sophomore goaltender Kent Patterson in the second game of the series. Patterson came up strong in the first period, stopping all 13 shots he faced.
The second period has been tough for the Gophers over the past couple years, and it was looking to be that way in this game as well. North Dakota came out firing, and drew an early power play which they capitalized on when Chay Genoway scored at 2:46 of the period on a shot off of Aaron Ness' kneecap, tying the game up at one goal a piece. Assists to Danny Kristo and Christian VandeVelde. The Sioux took the momentum of that goal right to the Gophers and drew another penalty just a few minutes later. On the ensuing power play, Chay Genoway struck paydirt again, tucking in his own shot that glanced off the pipe and behind Gopher goalie Patterson. It was Genoway's third power play goal of the year, and it came at 6:55 of the period. The Sioux continued their dominance, drawing yet another penalty at about the midway point of the period. This time, however, the Gophers struck back. The opportunistic Taylor Matson chipped the puck past a Sioux defender and rushed it up the rink, feeding Mike Hoeffel for a one-time shot that beat goaltender Eidsness and tied the game up at 2-2. The goal was a nice boost for the Gophers, who rode the wave of momentum the rest of the period and looked much better from that point on in.
The Gophers really came out firing in the third period, and took it to the Sioux. They had a lot of nice offensive-zone posession and several nice scoring opportunities. It was a period with a lot of up-and-down action, with the Gophers getting the better of the chances. The Gophs finally captialized when Mike Hoeffel knocked in a Patrick White rebound off the endboards, giving the Gophers a huge 3-2 lead. Ryan Flynn was credited the second assist at 11:52 of the third period. The Sioux, down but not out, did not give up, and at 13:10 tied the game up on a seeing-eye shot that somehow found the back of the net from Jake Marto. The assists went to Darcy Zajac and Mario Lamoureux.
The rest of the third period was action-packed, including several great scoring chances. The Gophers had a shot at an empty net with about a minute to go, but a Sioux defenseman was able to kick the puck away in the crease.
The game moved into overtime, where neither team really had a great scoring chance. It ended in a 3-3 tie, with the final shot total ending up at 34-19 in favor of the Sioux. The Gophers got one point out of the weekend with a loss on Friday and a tie on Saturday.
Last night's 3 Gopher Stars of the Game:
3) Jay Barriball
Barriball scored the all-important first goal of the game and, more importantly, the first Gopher goal of the year. The Gophs needed a spark to get this game off on the right foot, and Barriball provided it, putting a great shot past Eidsness for the goal. All-around nice performance from Barriball.
2) Mike Hoeffel
Hoeffel scored the Gophers' second and third goals of the game, but other than that the big winger seemed pretty invisible on the ice. No doubt the goals were huge boosts for this Gopher team, but Hoeffel will need to assert himself in every aspect of the game - mucking it up in the corners, being an asset in front of the net, playing keep-away on the penalty kill - if he can carry this Gopher team on his broad shoulders.
1) Taylor Matson
Matson was once again the best Gopher skater on the ice last night, providing great uptempo skating and a much needed burst of energy. Matson did all the work on Hoeffel's shorthanded goal, and on the power play, penalty kill and 5-on-5 he took control of the game. Matson is a real treat to watch and, if his energy level and desire to win can be infectious, he should be able to spark the Gophers to a great season.
The Gophers next face Denver at Mariucci Arena. The games are this upcoming Friday and Saturday. The puck drops at 7:00.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Pathetic Display from the Gophers in a 4-0 loss to the Sioux
It was not a good night to be a Gopher Hockey fan.
The Gophers fell 4-0 to arch-rival North Dakota Fighting Sioux, and looked outmatched in nearly every facet of the game. North Dakota won what seemed like every one-on-one puck battle, and had a large edge in the face-off column. The Gophers were outshot 43 to 22.
The Sioux got on the board early with a power play goal from Jason Gregoire. Gregoire picked up a loose puck after a broken play in front of the Gopher net and stuffed it home for a 1-0 Sioux lead.
The Gophers held the Sioux to just a 1-0 lead going into the first intermission, in large part thanks to some stellar saves by goalie Alex Kangas. Kangas' most memorable save in the first period came with just 5 seconds left. He stopped a partial breakaway chance by Christian Van de Velde with a nice glove save, and led the Gophers into the locker room.
The Gophs opened up the second period by earning a key power play. However, the Gophers were ineffective and seemed lost at times, and the Sioux took advantage, with Derrick LaPoint scoring shorthanded to give the Sioux a huge 2-0 lead that they would take into the second intermission. Again, Kangas came up huge for the Gophers and kept the team in the game, even though they were getting beat to every puck. One Gopher player that did not come up so large was David Fischer. Fischer looked terrible tonight. I had high hopes for him this year (he's in my players that need to step up blog post), but he appears to have regressed. He still made terrible decisions with the puck, and he still looked like someone poured concrete in his skates.
The game went downhill fast for the Gophers in the third.
Chay Genoway scored a power play goal, and Mario Lamoureux tacked on another goal on a 2-on-1 to give the Sioux a 4-0 lead. Brad Eidsness was solid in net for the Sioux, stopping all 22 Gopher shots he saw. The Gophers didn't have many great chances, as the team was lethargic and did not get to the front of the net at all.
The Sioux definitely were the more physical team, but the physicality wasn't the difference in this game. North Dakota was simply quicker to the puck and quicker with the puck than any Gopher player tonight. It often seemed like the Gophers were standing still and the Sioux were running around them all night.
In honor of Glen Sonmor, I'll provide a 3 Gopher Stars at the end of every game. After games like this one it's tough sometimes to come up with 3 stars, but I'll do my best:
3) Nick Leddy
Leddy had a solid game, and, being his first collegiate game, he was very poised and cool in the face of what had to be a tremendous amount of adversity. Factor in that he had to attempt to make up for what was an abysmal performance by his defensive partner David Fischer. All in all, a nice night for Leddy, who looks solid and should have a good year wearing the "M".
2) Taylor Matson
Matson was the only Gopher forward that looked like he belonged in the Maroon and Gold tonight. He battled for every puck and was perhaps the only Gopher player that looked like he could keep up with the Sioux quickness. He looks like a shot in the arm for the Gophers this year, and if the rest of the players can follow his lead the Gophers should play better tomorrow night.
1) Alex Kangas
Kangas was stellar tonight. He allowed four goals, but he stopped 39 shots and kept the team in the game all night. Not one of the four goals Kangas allowed were "his fault" - defense is a team thing and the defensemen and forwards did not give Kangas much help on any of the four Sioux goals. All the same, though, this is an impressive opening performance for Kangas, and it should bode well for the rest of the season.
Don't give up hope yet, sports fans! One game down and lots more to go, the season is young and there's (hopefully...) LOTS of room for improvement!
The Gophers fell 4-0 to arch-rival North Dakota Fighting Sioux, and looked outmatched in nearly every facet of the game. North Dakota won what seemed like every one-on-one puck battle, and had a large edge in the face-off column. The Gophers were outshot 43 to 22.
The Sioux got on the board early with a power play goal from Jason Gregoire. Gregoire picked up a loose puck after a broken play in front of the Gopher net and stuffed it home for a 1-0 Sioux lead.
The Gophers held the Sioux to just a 1-0 lead going into the first intermission, in large part thanks to some stellar saves by goalie Alex Kangas. Kangas' most memorable save in the first period came with just 5 seconds left. He stopped a partial breakaway chance by Christian Van de Velde with a nice glove save, and led the Gophers into the locker room.
The Gophs opened up the second period by earning a key power play. However, the Gophers were ineffective and seemed lost at times, and the Sioux took advantage, with Derrick LaPoint scoring shorthanded to give the Sioux a huge 2-0 lead that they would take into the second intermission. Again, Kangas came up huge for the Gophers and kept the team in the game, even though they were getting beat to every puck. One Gopher player that did not come up so large was David Fischer. Fischer looked terrible tonight. I had high hopes for him this year (he's in my players that need to step up blog post), but he appears to have regressed. He still made terrible decisions with the puck, and he still looked like someone poured concrete in his skates.
The game went downhill fast for the Gophers in the third.
Chay Genoway scored a power play goal, and Mario Lamoureux tacked on another goal on a 2-on-1 to give the Sioux a 4-0 lead. Brad Eidsness was solid in net for the Sioux, stopping all 22 Gopher shots he saw. The Gophers didn't have many great chances, as the team was lethargic and did not get to the front of the net at all.
The Sioux definitely were the more physical team, but the physicality wasn't the difference in this game. North Dakota was simply quicker to the puck and quicker with the puck than any Gopher player tonight. It often seemed like the Gophers were standing still and the Sioux were running around them all night.
In honor of Glen Sonmor, I'll provide a 3 Gopher Stars at the end of every game. After games like this one it's tough sometimes to come up with 3 stars, but I'll do my best:
3) Nick Leddy
Leddy had a solid game, and, being his first collegiate game, he was very poised and cool in the face of what had to be a tremendous amount of adversity. Factor in that he had to attempt to make up for what was an abysmal performance by his defensive partner David Fischer. All in all, a nice night for Leddy, who looks solid and should have a good year wearing the "M".
2) Taylor Matson
Matson was the only Gopher forward that looked like he belonged in the Maroon and Gold tonight. He battled for every puck and was perhaps the only Gopher player that looked like he could keep up with the Sioux quickness. He looks like a shot in the arm for the Gophers this year, and if the rest of the players can follow his lead the Gophers should play better tomorrow night.
1) Alex Kangas
Kangas was stellar tonight. He allowed four goals, but he stopped 39 shots and kept the team in the game all night. Not one of the four goals Kangas allowed were "his fault" - defense is a team thing and the defensemen and forwards did not give Kangas much help on any of the four Sioux goals. All the same, though, this is an impressive opening performance for Kangas, and it should bode well for the rest of the season.
Don't give up hope yet, sports fans! One game down and lots more to go, the season is young and there's (hopefully...) LOTS of room for improvement!
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