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Bickel signs with the Ducks After one season as a Golden Gopher, sophomore-to-be defenseman Stu Bickel has signed a professional contract with the Anaheim Ducks, according to a source. The Channhassen native turned 21-years-old just before his freshman season started last fall, so his age certainly played a role in his choice to forgo his final three years of eligibility. Bickel was often paired with fellow freshman Cade Fairchild last season and, despite his share of rough moments – mainly due to his lack of foot-speed – was a very solid player for the Gophers. What Minnesota will miss most about Bickel is his size and style of play. Of the projected regulars on the blueline this fall, nobody brings the type of game that the 6’3”, 201 lb. Bickel would. His nastiness will be sorely missed, but because he was never drafted, you can’t begrudge him for taking was it reportedly a great offer from a team that’s proven they can develop college players into NHL regulars in the form of the Ducks. Moving forward, the Gopher blueline will have a pair of upperclassmen dressing each night in the form of senior RJ Anderson and junior David Fischer. A pair of puck-movers – Farichild and freshman Aaron Ness – will also be fixtures. Sophomore Kevin Wehrs improved as last season and now, with Bickel gone, both he and freshman Sam Lofquist will probably play the majority of the games. Junior Brian Schack and freshman Grant Scott will also be in the mix, and there’s a chance now that Brandon Martell may join the team as opposed to spending another year in the USHL.
Written by: Cardinal on Tue 7/01/08 3:29 pm
Weekly FeatureAs a weekly feature, GPL will be doing recaps and previews on all outgoing and incoming players, leading up to the beginning of the 2008 – 2009 season. This week we take a short look back (and forward) at Justin Bostrom and Ryan Stoa. Justin Bostrom Freshman: 38 GP (7 G, 6 A) Sophomore: 34 GP (4 G, 4 A) Junior: 39 GP (4 G, 4 A) Justin Bostrom came to Minnesota after a very promising USHL career that saw him be one of the league’s top point getters on a point per game basis during his tenure. However, he hasn’t been able to translate that over to the next level, having posted just 29 points over his first three years in Maroon and Gold. Nagging injuries haven’t helped his cause, but his inability to handle the puck in close quarters is what really has hurt him. That being said, Bostrom played some of his best hockey of his Gopher career late last season. He was one of Minnesota’s better forwards during the playoffs, as he hit anything that moved, generated scoring chances and used his speed to his advantage. At various points during his Gopher career, he has been bumped up to one of the top two lines in order to provide a spark, so his work ethic is something that cannot be questioned. Heading into his fourth year, Bostrom will likely be one of the Gophers top penalty killers. He has an outside chance of playing on a scoring line, as head coach Don Lucia tends to go with older players as opposed to freshmen in spots such as that. Bostrom will not likely light up the scoreboard in his senior season, but if he brings the same effort and hard work that he showed late last season on a nightly basis, he’ll certainly be noticeable more often than not. Ryan Stoa Freshman: 41 GP (10G, 15A) Sophomore: 41 GP (12G, 12A) Junior: 2 GP (1G, 1A) Poised for a moster junior season, Ryan Stoa never made it out of the season-opening IceBreaker tournament. After tallying a goal and an assist in a win over RPI, Ryan was undercut while playing against Michigan the following night and severely injured his knee. He missed the remaining portion of the 2007 – 2008 season, the first omen of what would be an odd season for the Maroon and Gold. A 2nd round pick of the Colorado Avalanche, Ryan is the prototypical power forward. He’s got all the tools to be a top scorer and player in all situations. While the Gopher power play certainly missed a player of Tyler Hirsch’s ability, no doubt they struggled last season without their big man in front of the net. Ryan will be a huge part of the team in 2008 – 2009. He’s got a bit of extra pressure this season as not only is his pending professional career heavily weighed on how his knee responds, but also because he has been voted as captain by his teammates.
Written by: go4hcky on Mon 6/30/08 11:42 am
Weekly FeatureAs a weekly feature, GPL will be doing recaps and previews on all outgoing and incoming players, leading up to the beginning of the 2008 – 2009 season. This week we take a short look back at two seniors, Ben Gordon and Tom Pohl. Ben Gordon Freshman: 24 GP (0 G, 9 A) Sophomore: 37 GP (12 G, 17 A) Junior: 42 GP (12 G, 19 A) Senior: 45 GP (15 G, 14 A) Like many of his classmates, Ben Gordon emerged as a solid four-year player but never lived up to the hype that followed him to the U of M out of International Falls. Part of the reason for that could be his choice to come to Dinkytown a year early as opposed to playing a year in the USHL. Because of that and his lack of size, he was very ineffective during his freshman season. However, during his sophomore year, he was most paired on a line with Phil Kessel and Blake Wheeler and – not surprisingly – saw his offensive numbers take a nice climb up. After a good deal of early departures, his power play time increased during his two seasons as an upperclassmen, and Gordon did well in distributing the puck, but never was able to establish an ability to finish at a consistent level. This past season, which was Minnesota’s lowest scoring during his four years, Gordon was one of the Gophers best offensive players. He finished with 29 points in 45 games, second only to Wheeler’s 35. He never went more than three games without registering a point, but only posted one point and one helper in the final eight games of the season. Tom Pohl Freshman: 12 GP (2G, 0A) Sophomore: 18 GP (1G, 6A) Junior: 9 GP (0G, 0A) Senior: 34 GP (1G, 5A) A lot of Gopher hockey players usually stick with fans as having either a storied type of career or a defining moment. Hopefully people will remember Tom as being a responsible role player for which he was recruited. Most likely that won’t happen. After playing for two seasons in the USHL after starring at Red Wing high school, Tom was very much a bit player for the Gophers over his first three seasons. One of the positives in having a depleted roster his senior year was the amount of games he was able to play. Almost doubling his career total in his final season wearing the ‘M’, Tom didn’t add a lot of offense, but was very responsible on the ice as he was only a minus player in three of his 34 games played. What Tom will most likely be remembered for, unfortunately, is the horrific injury he suffered on March 16th while playing in the deciding game of the opening round playoff series vs. Mankato. While near the Gopher bench, Tom was checked from behind; the hit knocked off his helmet, and his head hit the dasher board by the bench, seemingly, with full force. Tom eventually had to undergo many hours of surgery just hours after the game which effectively ended his Gopher career. In the days and weeks following, you could easily tell how well liked Tom is by the coaching staff and his teammates. Hopefully in years to come more players with Tom’s attitude can be recruited if for nothing else, the role they play off the ice, which can be just as important as anything a star player can do as they move on to the professional ranks.
Weekly FeatureAs a weekly feature, GPL will be doing recaps and previews on all outgoing and incoming players, leading up to the beginning of the 2008 – 2009 season. This week we take a short look back at two seniors, Evan Kauffman and Mike Howe. Evan Kaufmann Freshman: 30 GP (7 G, 6 A) Sophomore: 40 GP (5 G, 8 A) Junior: 32 GP (11 G, 6 A) Senior: 45 GP (9 G, 10 A) As opposed to other Gopher players over recent years, there was never any question of Evan Kaufmann’s heart or desire. Despite his lack of size, Kaufmann worked just as hard as any player in college hockey and certainly got the most out of his final four years of playing hockey at a high level. Due to the early departures from the prior few years and injuries over course of the season, Kaufmann was often put into rolls that – in an ideal world – he wouldn’t be put in, such as playing the point on the power play. However, he was dependable and generally made the smart play. After bouncing around lines during the first half of the season, he settled in as a third / fourth line center and penalty killer during the Gophers encouraging second half run. If one moment could define his Gopher career, it would likely be his overtime goal against Maine during the 2005 NCAA West Regional at Mariucci Arena. However, the majority of Minnesota fans will recall Kaufmann in the same way as they think of Derek Peltier: a hard-working four year player who, despite being put in positions that they maybe shouldn’t have been in, always worked his rear-end off and took pride in being a Golden Gopher. Mike Howe Freshman: 35 GP (7G, 8A) Sophomore: 41 GP (13G, 6A) Junior: 39 GP (5G, 7A) Senior: 42 GP (7G, 14A) Mike Howe’s career at the ‘U’ could be described in a number of ways, but if anything it’s been an interesting journey. Coming to the Gophers from the St. Cloud area, Mike came in as the reigning USHL Player of the Year. He scored over a point a game in his junior career and was a special teams ace, leading the USHL in his second season there in power play goals and second in the shorthanded goal column. Many had high aspirations for Mike as one of the next great Gopher scorers. But that never came to fruition. Mike never really got into any kind of a groove, offensively anyway, as a Gopher. He was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis during his freshman campaign, which may have plagued him one way or another over his time here. He also suffered a very nasty concussion in a battle with the boards against Mankato back in November of 2007. He did, however, have some memorable career highlights. In his freshman season, he assisted on the game winning goal over Cornell, sending the Gophers to the Frozen Four, and in his only Frozen Four career game he had a goal and an assist. Howe’s last game in the Xcel Energy Center was a good one as well, as he scored with under 13 seconds left to beat St. Cloud and advance on in the WCHA Final Five. While he didn’t have the offensive numbers many thought he would, Howe certainly was a durable player. Even with the injury and illness, he only missed a handful of games in his freshman and senior seasons, playing all possible games in between. He excelled as a penalty killer for most of his career, and during the stretch run this year; he took the reigns as a checking line player. One thing is for sure, you could always could on an honest effort from Mike, something that hasn’t been 100% through the roster over the last couple of seasons.
Weekly FeatureAs a weekly feature, GPL will be doing recaps and previews on all outgoing and incoming players, leading up to the beginning of the 2008 – 2009 season. This week we take a short look back at two seniors, Derek Peltier and Brent Solei. Derek Peltier Freshman: 43 GP (6 G, 13 A) Sophomore: 41 GP (1 G, 17 A) Junior: 44 GP (4 G, 11 A) Senior: 45 GP (4 G, 17 A) After a very promising freshman season that saw the first-year blue liner amass nearly 20 points, many Gopher fans had high hopes for the Plymouth native. However, even though his scoring essentially flat-lined over his final three seasons in Maroon and Gold, he still managed to be a solid four-year player. This past season, Peltier wore the ‘C’ for Minnesota, taking over the reigns from Mike Vannelli, who was the captain during his stellar 2006-07 season. After the losses of Vannelli, Alex Goligoski and Erik Johnson from the prior season, much was expected of Peltier, who played much of the season with sophomore David Fischer. Much like the team, the tandem started the year off slowly and seemed to struggle with the adjustment from playing against other team’s third or fourth lines the season before to now going up against top-six forwards on a nightly basis. However, to his credit, Peltier was able to rectify his game as the season went on and was arguable Minnesota’s best skater over the last six weeks or so of the season. His sense of urgency on the ice was apparent, as he accumulated 10 of his 21 points over the final 14 games. Hopefully Peltier’s experience rubbed off on the four underclassmen that played along side him on a nightly basis. Though not the most talented of players, Peltier stood up for his teammates, worked hard, and took pride in wearing the “M.” Brent Solei Senior: 1 GP, 1-0, GAA: 1.00, Save%: .966 Nobody wants to be Rudy. Chad Roberg probably didn’t, and Brent Solei most assuredly did not, either. But there are a lot worse things to be as I’m sure Brent would tell us all today. Solei, who had only appeared in three exhibition games in his career (including a 3 – 1 win over the Under-18 USA development squad back in October), finally got into the Gopher record books on January 4th, 2008. He backstopped the Gophers to a 5 – 1 win over Wayne State, saving 28 of 29 shots, in what would turn out to be his only appearance for the Gophers in a regular season game. If nothing else, Brent’s hard work earned him nothing but praise and respect of his teammates and coaches; being one of the most popular players on the team while playing only one career game probably doesn’t hurt, either.
Mike Hastings named new assistant coach
As the Gopher Hockey Blog first reported, the Golden Gophers will officially name Mike Hastings the new assistant coach today. Hastings recently stepped down as the head coach of the Omaha Lancers in the USHL after leading the team to both the Anderson and Clark Cups, which are awarded to the best team in the regular season and the playoff champion, respectively.
During this past regular season, Hastings, a Crookston, Minn. native and graduate of St. Cloud state, became the all-time winningest coach in the history of the USHL. Hastings has twice been named the USHL Coach of the Year and has won the General Manager of the Year award five times during his stay at Omaha. His overall record while at the helm for the Lancers finished at 529-210-56.
Hastings joins head coach Don Lucia, a Notre Dame grad, and fellow assistant coach John Hill (Alaska Anchorage), on the Minnesota staff and will primarily focus on coaching the defensemen, the duty that former assistant Mike Guentzel excelled at for nearly 20 years.
The addition of Hastings to the staff should also aide the Gophers in out-state recruiting. Because of his ties to the USHL, which brings in kids from all over the country on a year basis, Hastings should be able to help Minnesota bring in kids from non-traditional hockey areas which are producing a great deal of top-flight players each season.
Many “Lucia bashers” have already come out of the woodwork and questioned the decision to hire a non-alum for this job, given the fact that both Lucia and Hill are not “M” men in their eyes (despite the fact both have been at Minnesota for a combined 13 years). However, as you can see from the above accolades, Hastings is clearly qualified for this job, which is something that can’t necessarily be said for some Minnesota grads that were allegedly in the running.
In the end, Lucia did what he feels is best for the program, which is what he absolutely should do (even if some “fans” don’t see it this way). If this hire proves to be a flop and the team struggles in the future, then Lucia’s job should absolutely be called into question. However, at this point, Lucia has earned the right to hire who HE wants, not who a group of “hangers-on” from the Doug Woog era want. Lucia knows that his feet will be held to the fire if he fails, be it with a Minnesota grad on the staff or not.
And, if Hill moves on in the coming years, which has been rumored for a while now, you can bet that someone like Scott Bell, who by all accounts would make an excellent assistant with a little bit more seasoning as a head coach at Hamline, would certainly be given a good deal of consideration.
For what it’s worth, three of the last five NCAA champions have had zero alumni amongst each team’s three primary members of each school’s respective coaching staff.
Written by: Cardinal on Wed 5/28/08 3:24 pm
Wheeler leaves team, expected to sign with Phoenix When Blake Wheeler committed to the University of Minnesota in the spring of 2004, most fans assumed that the Breck High School state might not make it to his senior year on campus. Then, when the Phoenix Coyotes selected Wheeler with the fifth overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft later that summer, many people worried about Wheeler making into his second season in the Maroon and Gold. So, it should come as no surprise that today, the University of Minnesota announced that Wheeler has left school to pursue his professional career. He has not yet signed a deal with Phoenix, but it’s expected that he will do so in the near future. Should Wheeler not sign a deal with the Coyotes within 30 days, he would then become a free agent. Wheeler’s Gopher career will always be remembered for one play: the game-winning goal he scored against North Dakota in the 2007 WCHA Final Five title game. That goal, which was his 18th of the season, came on the heels of a three-goal performance the night prior. That weekend, in the eyes of many fans, salvaged a down season for Wheeler, who obviously came to the U of M with very high expectations, which probably put unrealistic expectations on the Plymouth native. During his freshman season, he was often overshadowed by the play and star power of linemate Phil Kessel, who posted an impressive 51 points as a freshman before turning pro. Meanwhile, Wheeler had just 23 points during his first season on campus. After his first season, the Gophers lost the likes of Kessel, Ryan Potulny and Gino Guyer, so Wheeler stepped up and filled the void during his sophomore (and then junior) seasons by playing out of position. Unlike other perceived star players who the coaching staff moved to the center position, Wheeler never voiced his displeasure publicly or put forth a half-hearted effort on the ice. He worked hard to learn his new position during his sophomore and junior years, and improved his faceoff winning percentage in the process while often going against more seasoned centermen. After posting 38 points during his second season at the U, he followed that up with 35 points last year. And despite the decrease in production on paper, given the team’s scoring struggles, he clearly had a very good season and was arguably the team’s only consistent offensive threat. Wheeler will likely have to start his professional career in the AHL, but given his big frame (6’4”, 215 lbs.) and his passion, he’ll likely make it to the NHL level before some may think.
Written by: Cardinal on Fri 5/09/08 2:56 pm
Frazee Turns Pro In a move that comes as little surprise to anyone that follows the Gopher hockey program, goaltender Jeff Frazee has decided to pass on his senior season and sign a pro contract with the New Jersey Devils organization. A highly touted recruit and second round pick of the Devils in 2005, Jeff leaves the Gophers with a final overall record of 26-13-3. He came in to the program with much fanfare from the US Under-18 National Development Team in Ann Arbor. While Jeff began his freshman campaign behind Kellen Briggs, many expected with his reputation, that he’d be the starter by the end of the season. Of course, things sometimes don’t turn out the way you’d expect. Frazee was great during the playoffs at the end of the 2006 – 2007 season, beating Alaska-Anchorage in a deciding third game, and later, the two OT games against North Dakota. Even more so, he was dynamite when he played for the US World Junior team, coming off the bench during a break in his sophomore season to lead the team to a bronze medal. But be it off ice issues, or sometimes erratic play, Jeff just never got on track while wearing the ‘M’. Regardless of the reason, hopefully people will remember Jeff for his playoff run last year, and the way he supported the team during the last half of the season this year after his last minutes in net in St. Cloud. Good luck as a professional, Jeff, we’ll all be cheering for you.
Written by: go4hcky on Wed 4/09/08 10:38 am
It was a nice run
The most disappointing Golden Gopher hockey season in nearly a decade came to an end tonight, as the Boston College Eagles put the final nail in Minnesota’s coffin by defeating them by a 5-2 score in the second NCAA Northeast Regional Semifinal in Worcester, Mass.
In a way, the game epitomized Minnesota’s season. They outshot the Eagles by a 33-32 margin, and carried the play for long stretches of time; but in the end, their inability to finish is what did them in.
The Gophers took four penalties in the first seven minutes of the game, and BC’s power play would finally make them pay. Ben Smith notched his 22nd goal of the season to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Minnesota played much better at the start of the second period, and they were rewarded as Mike Howe got his seventh goal of the season off a rebound from a David Fischer point shot. However, just over four minutes later, Benn Ferriero’s 17th tally of the season put BC ahead for good.
Third period goals by Pat Gannon and Joe Whitney would ice things for the Eagles, though Minnesota would make things somewhat interesting at the end. While on the power play, head coach Don Lucia pulled Alex Kangas for the extra attacker, giving Minnesota a six-on-four advantage. Ben Gordon ripped a wrist shot that appeared to go in the net, but the referee initially waived it off. The game continued for over three minutes before the next stoppage in play, which came on a BC empty-net goal. The officials reviewed the play and the puck clearly went in the net, so the officials reset the clock to reflect the time in which the puck went in the net – 16:33 into the third period – with the score being 4-2.
The Gophers would have a few chances at the end before Nate Gerbe’s 29th score of the season would ice things. BC moves on to face Miami (Ohio) tomorrow in the regional final, with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line.
Minnesota, meanwhile, bids farewell to seniors Derek Peltier, Evan Kaufmann, Tom Pohl, Ben Gordon, Mike Howe, and Brent Solei, and possibly others such as Blake Wheeler and Jeff Frazee for much different reasons. However, they will bring back a good chunk of this year’s team (including Ryan Stoa), along with arguably the top freshman class in the nation, led by the likes of Jordan Schroeder, Aaron Ness, and Jake Hansen.
Written by: Cardinal on Sat 3/29/08 11:10 pm
Gophers, Eagles set to (finally) meet
In a meeting that could have happened two other times this season, the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Boston College Eagles will finally butt heads this weekend, as the two teams square off in the second of two NCAA Northeast Regional Semifinals in Worcester, Mass.
The Eagles, who last weekend won the Hockey East postseason tournament, traveled the State of Hockey two other times this season but never crossed paths with their Maroon and Gold-clad counterparts. BC was upended by Michigan in the opening round of the Icebreaker Invitational back in October, which left the Wolverines to take on and subsequently lose to Minnesota in the title game. Then, the tables turned a bit in December, as the Eagles won their opening round game of the Dodge Holiday Classic, but ended up facing – and beating – RIT in the title game after the Tigers upset the Gophers in opening round play.
Both the Eagles and the Gophers struggled at times during the regular season, but both teams turned in solid performances in their conference tournaments. The Eagles had won just one game in their previous six heading into the Hockey East tournament, but swept Providence in the opening round, and then dispatched of top-seeded New Hampshire in a triple overtime thriller before handling Vermont by a 4-0 score in the title game.
Minnesota, as we all know, played a marathon of a series in Mankato against Minnesota State, which resulted in three games, five overtime sessions, and an endless amount of drama. The end result was a Sunday night overtime goal by Tony Lucia which enabled Minnesota to make the WCHA Final Five. Senior Mike Howe’s goal with just over 12 seconds left in the quarterfinal game on Thursday night set the Gophers up for a date with Colorado College on Friday night. Freshman Mike Hoeffel then became the latest hero for Minnesota, scoring a pair of goals, including the OT winner, as the Gophers found their way to the championship game on Saturday night. And though they were unable to get past the Denver Pioneers, who won the game 2-1, there’s no doubt Minnesota is playing their best hockey of the season heading into the NCAA Tournament.
Despite that fact, Minnesota is the clear underdog this weekend. The Eagles have four players who have more points than their leading scorer, Blake Wheeler, who currently sits at 34 points. BC’s forwards are led by Hobey Baker candidate Nate Gerbe, who has 57 points in 39 games. The diminutive Gerbe never stops working, which is a big reason why the 5’5”, 165 lb. Buffalo Sabres draft pick has been able to excel at the college level.
One could argue that loss of Corey Schneider, who left after his junior season to sign with the Vancouver Canucks, was the biggest loss of any team in the nation this past offseason. Schneider backstopped the Eagles to back-to-back NCAA Frozen Fours, each time falling in the finals.
Eagles head coach Jerry York turned to freshman John Muse to take the reigns this season, and Muse has not disappointed. He has played every second this season, posting a 21-11-8 record with a 2.26 goals against average and a .919 save percentage.
His counterpart, Minnesota’s Alex Kangas, will likely need to be as sharp as ever against the Eagles, who average 3.52 goals per game this season. Minnesota, meanwhile, averaged just 2.43. So, it’s likely that the Gophers will need to score at least two goals – and probably three – to win this game.
For the Gophers to advance this weekend, the duo of Ben Gordon and Blake Wheeler are going to have to get going. The two upperclassmen were very good in the final regular season series of the year against Minnesota Duluth, but since then, they have combined for just three assists in six games and six overtime periods. If those two can start clicking again, the Gophers have a real shot to make some noise out east.
In the other Northeast Regional Semifinal, the Miami Redhawks – who are the No. 1 seed in the Northeast Region – will take on the No. 4 seeded Air Force Falcons. Gopher fans surely remember the Falcons, who gave Minnesota everything they could handle last year in the NCAA Tournament and again in the Holiday Classic this past season.
Saturday’s Gopher game will get underway at 6:30 p.m. (assuming the Miami / Air Force game doesn’t go long) and will be live on ESPNU and FSN North. The Sunday regional final will only air on ESPNU and will begin at 3:30 p.m.
Written by: Cardinal on Tue 3/25/08 7:17 pm
One Streak Ends, Others Continue
St. Paul--Streaks have a tendency to continue. Denver goaltender Peter Mannino only surrendered one goal to Minnesota. Denver forward Tyler Bozak scored against Minnesota. And Minnesota became the fourth team to reach the WCHA Playoff Final and fall. The Pioneer's 2-1 victory in front of 17,907 fans secured the school's 15th playoff championship and kept Denver undefeated at XCel Energy Center.
"We knew obviously that Minnesota was fatiguing and you could see it," said Denver coach George Gwozdecky. "I wanted to see if we could continue to see us keep the pace as high as possible, and while obviously they didn't seem to be very fatigued in the third period, we kind of went with three lines. The beauty of playing in a tournament like this is you can play three lines on a regular basis pretty much because every four minutes you get a two minute break."
The Gophers started the scoring at 5:39 of the second period when Ryan Flynn got a second chance to tip a shot from the point. His first tip on a Cade Fairchild shot went just wide of the Denver goal. The puck came back to the point seconds later for Stu Bickel. As the shot came in from the point Mannino reached out for the pick, but Flynn got a blade on it inches away from the leather into the top corner. Three minutes later Denver got the bounce that had gone Minnesota's way all weekend. Bozak threw a puck out front from the corner, and it caromed off Bickel's skate past Kangas.
"When we play Denver we know two things," said Gopher coach Don Lucia. "We were going to score one on Mannino and Bozak was going to score on us--even though it was behind the goal line tonight. If he could play us 30 times a year, he'd probably be signing a pro contract right now and he could give us part of the bonus."
With the game tied and the period winding down Denver forward Anthony Maiani lofted a puck over the Gopher defense. Denver forward Tom May skated onto the puck and past Derek Peltier. Kangas tried to poke check the puck away, but May responded by putting the puck 5-hole. The goal gave the Pioneers a 2-1 lead heading into the locker room for the second intermission.
"Bozak had a chance earlier, I tried a poke check and he lost control. So I was kind of thinking the same deal--try to get him to mess up and fumble the puck," said Kangas. "He made a nice move, put it around my stick and slid it five-hole. Probably the wrong play at the time, but I thought it was a play I should make."
The goal gave Denver the lead and it seemed that maybe the Gophers tank was nearing empty.
"May broke in and got by Derek, maybe if it was the first game that might not have happened," said Coach Lucia. "He might have had a half-step more to work with, but our guys have played a lot of hockey the last nine days. You could see a bit where those one-on-one confrontations became a bit more difficult. I give our guys a lot of credit to come out in third period when they got down 2-1 and play as hard as we did."
Despite the loss, the Gophers are now looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament. The parity in college hockey, and specifically the WCHA has muddled the picture heading into selection Sunday. Scott Brown, from USCHO.com has predicted Minnesota will head to Worcester to play Boston College in a regional with North Dakota and Princeton. While College Hockey News has the Gophers headed to Albany to play Boston College in a regional with Miami and Niagara. Either way the team is keeping its head up going into the post-season.
"We got a bounce last night against CC, but we didn't really get too many good bounces tonight," said Ben Gordon. "It's just good to see ourselves get some bounces here as the post-season moves on, during the course of the year I don't think we got a whole lot of good bounces, but good bounces come from hard work."
Notes: The championship game drew 17,907 fans and the weekend drew 86,855 fans despite the snowfall... "We did not back in because of what somebody else did, we earned our way in," said Don Lucia... The all-tournament team was composed of TJ Oshie, Mike Hoeffel, May, Taylor Chorney, Chris Butler, and Mannino... Kangas was named MVP.
Written by: evegoe on Sat 3/22/08 11:40 pm
Hoeffel, Kangas, Gophers Continue Magic “It’s inspiring to watch them play.” Coach Don Lucia? No. Tiger Coach Scott Owens? No. This was Denver coach George Gwozdecky describing the Gophers after his team advanced in the first semifinal game of the day. It’s not the same kind of Gopher hockey that most are used to watching, but for right now it’s really working. Mike Hoeffel netted both goals and Alex Kangas continued his stellar play as the Gophers advanced to the WCHA Final Five title game with their third straight OT win, this time a 2 – 1 score over Colorado College. “This team never ceases to amaze me, right now, with what they’ve been able to do,” said coach Lucia after the game. “It starts with your goaltender; he’s been brilliant.” For the better part of the first period, the two teams were mostly in ‘feeling-out’ mode. Through the first 6 – 7 minutes, there was only one shot on goal, although that trend would not last. CC ended up dominating in shots in the first period, firing 20 on Alex Kangas, a season high in one period for the Tigers.  “They are playing great team defense” said Coach Owens. “[Kangas] is in a zone right now.” CC got on the board in the second period, just under a minute in, off of carryover power play time from the first. Andreas Vlassopoulos picked up a rebound off the back wall, and then banked in a shot off of off Derek Peltier’s leg. A turnover by Tiger defenseman Nate Prosser helped tie the game just a short while later. Jay Barriball grabbed a loose puck, and put it in the slot to a wide open Mike Hoeffel, whose laser beam wrist shot beat Richard Bachman over his left shoulder. “I thought Mike’s first goal was the big one,” said coach Lucia. “They had scored on the power play and we didn’t want to fall any further behind than that.” Oddly enough, in a tie game late in the third period, the game opened up quite a bit. Each team had great puck movement through the neutral zone and had some good chances. The Gophers, at the end of the period however, really seemed to be losing their legs. But it was the Gophers who came out firing in OT. They carried all the play, had all the chances, and got a great bounce to end it. Mike Hoeffel carried the puck in on the left boards, and fired a shot into the slot. The puck hit off of a Tiger defender, bounced off of Bachman’s back and went in the top of the net. The building erupted and the Gophers move on. “We are coming together at the right time,” said Hoeffel when asked about his goal and his team’s newfound luck. “I don’t know how, but it deflected into the net.” The Gophers will take on Denver at 7:07 Saturday night. Denver has never lost in the Final Five tournament at the Xcel Energy Center. The Gophers are on a roll. Unstoppable Force vs. Immovable Object? “We play for a championship tomorrow,” said Coach Lucia. Who would have thought that just a couple of months ago? Notes – After the first semifinal of the day, the WCHA announced that next season, MSU and Minnesota Duluth will host the Inaugural State of Minnesota College Hockey Showcase next season. On Saturday, November 1st, all four Minnesota based WCHA teams will complete their weekend schedules at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. On Friday, Duluth will host St. Cloud in Duluth and the Gophers will host MSU at Mariucci. On Saturday, all four teams will invade the ‘X’ as Duluth will host St. Cloud at 4:37PM, then at 7:37PM, MSU will host the Gophers. WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod shied away from calling this an annual series, but hoped to come up with a snappier name for it, as he said, something along the lines of a “Beanpot”….Coach Lucia said after the game that the best news of the day was that “Tom Pohl went home today”. Lucia added that it appears as though Pohl will be cleared to travel with the team for the NCAA regional next weekend...the Gophers will attempt to become the first team in Final Five history to win three games for the title. No team that has ever played in the 'play-in' game has won the Broadmoor Trophy that year.
Written by: go4hcky on Sat 3/22/08 12:23 am
Howe Goal Gets Gophers Past Huskies St. Paul--A team’s best penalty killer is often its goaltender. And Minnesota goaltender Alex Kangas proved that theory Thursday as Minnesota advanced in the WCHA Final Five with a 3-2 victory over St. Cloud State. The freshman goaltender was tested early and often by St. Cloud State forwards Ryan Lasch and Andreas Nodl, but Kangas had an answer more often than not. “He’s been solid for them down the stretch,” said Lasch. “He’s come up big for them as you saw tonight and on the power play he stopped us a couple times, which gave them a lot of momentum.” Kangas made 25 saves on the evening, 12 of which came while the Gophers spent nearly nine minutes playing short-handed. The Huskies had seven power play opportunities, but the nation’s second rated power play produced only one goal. “Some people call it that [I’m playing in a zone right now], but you can call it whatever you want,” said Kangas. “I feel good right now and guys are playing well in the defensive zone in front of me. That’s a big confidence booster for me knowing that I just gotta’ make one save and they’re going to clear out the junk in front.” Kangas’ solid play between the pipes allowed Minnesota to keep the game close and the team finally got the bounce that has eluded them many weekends when a Derek Peltier shot from the point found a lane. “I saw it come out to the point, and I was hanging out behind the net trying to get lost as I knew the puck would be coming,” said Mike Howe. “I was just trying to get open for a rebound, and sure enough it went off the back wall and came right to my stick and I just had to tap it in after that.” Howe’s sixth goal of the season came with just 13 seconds remaining in the game and ensured the Gophers would face Colorado College Friday night in the WCHA Semifinal. “Tonight was the type of game that we want to have; two-to-one, three-to-two,” said Gopher Coach Don Lucia. “That’s the type of game we have to be in to give ourselves a chance. And fortunately for us, we got a good bounce off the end boards and score the game winner. This team deserves a few bounces, because we haven’t got a lot this year.” The game was tight throughout and Minnesota got on the scoreboard first when Tony Lucia crashed the net. The third line winger scored, giving the Gophers a one goal lead 25 second into the game. “We’re not going to win by making a bunch of pretty passes coming up the rink,” said Minnesota Coach Don Lucia. “I think the first goal was critical tonight, especially when you come off what we went through--to be able to jump out the very first shift and play with a lead was huge.” St. Cloud did tie the game seven minutes later with a power play goal when Garrett Raboin came down from the point finishing a pass from Lasch on the doorstep. The Gophers re-gained the lead at 4:36 of the second period, opportunistically capitalizing on a 5-3 power play when Evan Kaufmann converted a rebound off a Blake Wheeler shot. The Gophers protected their 2-1 lead by pulling back their forecheckers, implementing a 1-2-2 forecheck slowing the St. Cloud State attack through the second and third period. The Huskies struggled to establish flow and struggled to win any one-on-one battles. St. Cloud State finally broke through the neutral zone late in the third. Raboin lofted a pass over the Gopher defense to Lasch, creating a two-on-one. Lasch found teammate Tony Mosey across the crease for an easy tap-in to tie the game with 4:26 left in the third period. The game looked headed to overtime until Howe’s game-winner. “We’ve been right in it after every game we’ve played and all of sudden now it’s turned the other way a bit and we’re winning these close games,” said Coach Lucia. “That’s a credit to our seniors and our team that we’ve been able to hang in there and find a way to keep playing.” Notes: Mike Howe on Tom Pohl, “Tommy’s been one of the guys all four years that he’s been here. He’s dedicated himself completely to the program. It’s tough seeing a guy like that go down, he’s a good guy in the locker room for us and we just kind of rallied around with what happened with him as we play in these games. We wish he gets a fast recovery and our prayers and thoughts are with him.” Gopher seniors contributed on every Minnesota goal with Kaufmann and Peltier getting assists on the first goal, Kaufmann scoring the second goal, and Howe notching the game-winner off a Peltier rebound… 17 penalties were called during the game for a total of 34 minutes… Minnesota attempted 62 total shots to St. Cloud State’s 31 attempted shots… The Xcel Energy Center sold out for the first time on a WCHA Final Five Thursday game with attendance announced at 19,232.
Written by: evegoe on Fri 3/21/08 12:30 am
Gophers and Huskies set to battle in St. Paul
After winning what was one of the most entertaining – and likely draining – WCHA playoff series of all time, the Golden Gophers will look to continue their winning ways in St. Paul at the WCHA Final Five by taking on the St. Cloud State Huskies on Thursday night in the “play-in” game.
The Gophers got to St. Paul thanks to a pair of overtime wins last Saturday and Sunday to win the final pair of games in the best-of-three series at Minnesota State after dropping the first contest by a 1-0 score in double overtime. Sophomore Mike Carman’s overtime goal lifted Minnesota to a 2-1 victory on Saturday night to even the series at one all, and then fellow second-year player Tony Lucia notched his sixth goal of the season deep into the second overtime in Sunday’s 3-2 win which likely punched the Gophers ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
The big question on the minds of Gopher fans is will the team have anything left in the tank come Thursday night? The Huskies are playing their best hockey of the season, having lost just one in their last 11 games. Bob Motzko and Co. swept the Wisconsin Badgers last weekend at the National Hockey Center to both advance to the Final Five and also secure their spot in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
They key to St. Cloud’s success this season has been their power play, and specifically the play of freshman Garrett Roe and sophomores Ryan Lasch and Andreas Nodl. All three players have accumulated over half their points on the power play, which has sparked the SCSU power play to rank first in the WCHA at 21.9 percent. If the Gophers hope to have any shot of winning on Thursday night, they cannot afford to frequent the sin-bin too often.
The Husky power play has been solid all year, but the same cannot be said for sophomore Jase Weslosky. However, the Edmonton, Alberta native has really turned it on as of late, as the Huskies have allowed three goals or more just once since Feb. 9.
If Weslosky is on his game, Minnesota will really be in trouble, given its propensity for not being able to score goals. The Gophers did put a four-spot on SCSU earlier this year, though they also blew a three goal lead in that game as the teams skated to a 4-4 tie in St. Cloud. The night before, Minnesota played very well but not surprisingly had trouble scoring and ended up losing by a 3-1 score at Mariucci Arena.
Freshman sensation Alex Kangas, who is unquestionably the Gophers team MVP on the season, was certainly on his game last weekend, and will need to be even sharper against the high-powered Huskies on Thursday night.
The winner of this game moves on to the semi-finals to take on Colorado College. The winner of that game will then tangle with either DU or UND in the title game, while the losers battle earlier in the day on Saturday for third place. All games will air live on FSN North.
Written by: Cardinal on Tue 3/18/08 7:28 pm
Tom Pohl update from the University of Minnesota...
Gophers’ Pohl in Intensive Care Following Surgery at Rochester Hospital
University of Minnesota senior Tom Pohl is in intensive care following surgery resulting from an injury suffered in the Golden Gophers’ double overtime victory over Minnesota State on Sunday in Mankato .
Pohl sustained a skull fracture when his head hit the boards in front of the team’s bench at 6:09 of the second period. The injury resulted in bleeding on the brain and Pohl was airlifted to St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester . Successful surgery was performed to stop the bleeding and stabilize the fracture. Pohl remains at the hospital for further observation.
“We are very fortunate that he has tremendous medical care,” said Minnesota coach Don Lucia, who is in Rochester with Pohl and his family. “We’re looking forward to him returning to school at one hundred percent and our thoughts and prayers remain with Tom and the Pohl family.”
Written by: Jupiter on Mon 3/17/08 3:24 pm
Lucia’s goal sends Minnesota to the Final Five
In what was a weekend series that no fan will soon forget, Minnesota sophomore Tony Lucia scored the game-winning goal with just over three minutes left in the second overtime to give the Golden Gophers a 3-2 win in the third and deciding game of their WCHA first round playoff series with Minnesota State. With the win, the Gophers move on to St. Paul and the WCHA Final Five, where they will take on St. Cloud State on Thursday night in the play-in game.
For the third night in a row, the two teams could not settle the score in regulation. Friday night’s game was won by the Mavericks, as they netted short-handed tally at the 17:36 mark of the second overtime to take a one-game lead in the best of three series. With their season likely on the line, Minnesota bounced back on Saturday night, thanks to Mike Carman’s fourth goal of the season with just under eight minutes gone in the first overtime.
As was the case with the previous two nights, each team had several great chances to take the series and advance to St. Paul. However, Minnesota sophomore Alex Kangas and MSU junior Mike Zacharias showed why they are arguably their respective team MVPs, as they both played outstanding hockey all weekend long.
Lucia’s goal, his sixth of the season, came thanks to a great job of fore-checking by linemates Evan Kaufmann and Ryan Flynn. Kaufmann got the puck to the net after Flynn battled a MSU defender in the corner; Lucia was tied up with the other Mavericks defenseman, but managed to slide the loose puck in past Zacharias for the game-winner.
Minnesota found itself down early in the contest thanks to Mick Berge’s 20th goal on the season. The Gophers would fight back to take the lead as Jay Barriball and Patrick White each scored their sixth goals of the season to give the Maroon and Gold a 2-1 lead heading into the third period. However, just 3:20 into the third, Kael Mouillierat tied the game at 2-2, sliding the puck past a screened Kangas.
However, that would be Kangas’ last slipup on the night, as he held steady the rest of the way in to earn his 10th victory of the season. His goals against now sits at a ridiculous 1.95 for the season, while his save percentage is an equally impressive .930. After this past weekend, there’s no doubt who is Minnesota’s team MVP.
On a more somber note, Minnesota senior forward Tom Pohl was hit by MSU’s Jason Wiley during the second period. Pohl’s helmet flew off and his face hit awkwardly against the boards near the Gopher bench. There was a great deal of blood on the ice, and Pohl – at a minimum – broke his nose and suffered a concussion according to reports. Some conflicting reports say the Red Wing native may have more serious head injuries, but those are unconfirmed.
As it stands now, 15 of Minnesota’s 41 games this season have gone to overtime, including nine of the last 14. One of those was a 4-4 tie at St. Cloud State, their Thursday night opponent. The Gophers blew a 4-1 lead at the National Hockey Center to the Huskies, who are one of the hotter teams in the country as they have just one loss in their last 11 games. This past weekend, the swept Wisconsin to advance to St. Paul.
Written by: Cardinal on Mon 3/17/08 8:04 am
Carman Forces Game Three
It’s been written too many times this season: a blown third period lead and a loss in OT.
But it wasn’t to be tonight. Playing their guts out, the Gophers again give up a third period lead but fought off a hard charging Maverick team at the end of regulation, and win it on a Mike Carman wrist shot 7:33 into overtime.
The game started poorly in the first few moments, but aside from those first few shifts which were entirely in the Gopher zone, just about every scoring opportunity came the way of the Maroon and Gold. The Gophers seemed like they were fresh off a week’s rest as they really out-skated and out-chanced the Mavericks. Several Gophers just barely missed goals, including close in chances by Jay Barriball and Mike Hoeffel.
The Gophers took back-to-back penalties around halfway through the period, but aside from a fantastic sliding save by Alex Kangas, the Gophers had just as much of the play as the Mavericks.
It took a fabulous play to get one past Mike Zacharias. Off a rebound/scrum in front of the net, Justin Bostrom took the puck, skated around Zacharias, then the whole net, and his wraparound attempt slid into the net through Mankato defenseman Brian Kilburg, who was acting as goalie because Zacharias was still out of his crease.
The period ended with the Mavericks really on their heels.
For the next 25 minutes, the Gophers played very well. Mankato couldn’t control the puck in any fashion, and the Gophers were getting some chances, and playing with an edge.
Just about the ten minute mark of the third period, however, things changed off a Gopher penalty.
With Pat White in the box, Andy Sackrison finished off a bang-bang play with a shot into the upper corner over a desperate Kangas glove. The crowd went wild and the Mavericks had new life. They pressured and pressured towards the end of the game but couldn’t get what would have been the winner in regulation.
OT started and Mankato had all the play. But our favorite color man Doug Woog’s prediction came true at the 7:33 mark. Mike Carman took the puck just over the Maverick blue line, used the defenseman in front of him as a screen, and ripped one over Zacharias’s shoulder. The puck hit off the defenseman’s (Channing Boe) leg on the way in, which really seemed to fool Zacharias, as the puck clinked off of the bar underneath the inside of the net.
Not to be overlooked tonight are two points, through two games. One is the play of Alex Kangas. Another stellar game by Alex, the Gophers would probably not be playing tomorrow night without his efforts. But two is the Gopher power play. Scoreless in 8 attempts in two games, the Gophers might have already punched their ticket to the Final Five with a goal or two on special teams.
The season is on the line tomorrow night as these two, probably exhausted teams, will finish off this series at 7PM on FSN.
Written by: go4hcky on Sat 3/15/08 10:14 pm
Mavericks upend Gophers in 2OT thriller
In what was a game that no onlooker will soon forget, the Minnesota State Mavericks took a commanding lead in the best of three series, topping the Golden Gophers by a 1-0 score in double overtime.
Late in the second extra session, the Mavericks were whistled for having too many men on the ice. The Minnesota power play, which had scored in its six previous games, embarked on its fifth try of the night. The previous four resulted in two shots, very few chances, and obviously no goals.
The man-advantage would result in a score, but for the buys wearing Purple and White. Freshman defenseman Cade Fairchild turned the puck over at the MSU blueline, which enabled MSU’s Jon Kalinski and Trevor Bruess to break into the Minnesota zone. Kalinski dished the puck over to Bruess, the Mavericks’ leading scorer, and he beat Minnesota’s Alex Kangas with a high shot to end the drama-filled game.
Both teams had their fair share of chances over the course of nearly 100 minutes of hockey. Minnesota’s top line of Blake Wheeler, Ben Gordon, and Mike Howe had the best of the Gophers’ chances throughout the night; Jay Barriball, who returned from an ankle injury, also played well, and rang a shot off the pipe in overtime.
The loss puts the Gophers in a one-game whole, but from an emotional standpoint, this loss might be too much for a team to overcome on such short notice.
The Mavericks will look to (likely) end Minnesota’s season on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Written by: Cardinal on Fri 3/14/08 11:38 pm
Win or go home for the Gophers
It’s been quite a while – eight years to be exact – since the Minnesota Golden Gophers have had the risk of their season ending before the WCHA Final Five commences. However, that scenario is staring the Maroon and Gold right between the eyes heading into this weekend’s first round playoff series with Minnesota State Mankato.
During Don Lucia’s first season as head coach of the Golden Gophers, his team finished the regular season in sixth place, which earned his team a trip to play the Colorado College Tigers, his former team. After winning 4-2 on Friday night, a Stuart Senden overtime goal on Saturday night would give the Gophers a sweep.
Minnesota fans will be looking for a similar outcome this weekend, and for good reason: if the Gophers are unable to win two of three against the Mavericks, it’s a virtual certainty that Minnesota’s season will come to an end. They currently sit alone in 12th place in the PairWise Rankings. Two wins this weekend would not only likely move them up a spot or two, but it would give them the chance to further enhance their resume next weekend in St. Paul at the Final Five. Conversely, if they are unable to make it out of Mankato with a pair of victories, they will at best hold steady in the PairWise, and will likely be jumped by other teams from across the nation that do make it their conference tournaments. Generally, a team must be in the top 13 in the PairWise Rankings to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Despite the face that the Mavericks, who finished the regular season with an 18-14-4 overall record, are the No. 4 seed, many are going to view Troy Jutting’s team as the underdog in this series against the No. 7 seeded Gophers. After all, the Gophers swept the Minnesota State earlier this season for their only WCHA sweep, and they have feel to the Mavericks just twice in the teams 28 lifetime meetings.
After being swept by North Dakota in mid-January, the Mavericks have been one of the hottest teams in the nation, going 9-4-0 over their final 13 regular season games. Junior netminder Mike Zacharias has provided stability between the pipes, which is an area that has plagued Minnesota State for years. His .919 save percentage ranks sixth in WCHA play.
Aside from solid goaltending, the Mavericks really don’t do anything overall great. They rank in the middle of the pack in WCHA play when it comes to scoring offense (5th, 2.54 GPG), scoring defense (7th, 2.68 GPG), power play (7th, 13.0 percent) and penalty kill (8th, 81 percent).
One thing that makes the Mavericks such a tough team to play against is their depth; the have four players with over 20 points – including sophomore Trevor Bruess and his team-leading 28 points – but they have a 13 players with 10 or more points. That’s one more than Minnesota if you discount the departed Kyle Okposo’s 11 points.
Given Minnesota’s history of owning the Mavericks, one would have to think that the Mavs are going to be a rather fired up group when they hit the ice on Friday night. This has the potential to be a program-changing weekend for Minnesota State. The first five minutes on Friday night could arguably be the most important stretch of time on the whole weekend. If Minnesota can withstand the onslaught that is likely to come at them early in the game, they will be in good shape to get a ‘W’ on Friday night and put the pressure squarely on the backs of the Mavericks.
For Minnesota, sophomore wing Jay Barriball is likely to return to the lineup after sitting out last weekend with an ankle injury. After Friday night’s 4-1 win over Minnesota Duluth, Lucia said that if they had lost that game, Barriball would have been out there on Saturday night. Assuming Barriball is healthy, he’ll likely be put back with senior Ben Gordon and junior Blake Wheeler to form Minnesota’s top offensive line. That trio will need to be a factor this weekend if Minnesota hopes to advance to the Xcel Energy Center.
Another key in this weekend’s games will likely be how the Gopher defense handles the forecheck of Minnesota State. The Bulldogs came pretty hard at Minnesota this past weekend, and often gave the Gopher blueliners fits and caused turnovers. The likes of Derek Peltier and David Fischer cannot be afraid to throw the puck off the glass to relive pressure; should they opt to hold onto the biscuit and try to make that extra pass, it could really cost them.
Freshman goalie Alex Kangas has been great all season for Minnesota, and he’ll likely play every second for the Gophers again this weekend. He was able to help carry the USHL’s Indiana Ice deep into the playoffs last season, and prior to his stint in the USHL, he was named to the All-Tournament Team during the 2005 AA State High School Tournament as a member of Rochester Century, so he certainly has a track record of excelling in the playoffs. He’ll likely need to stand on his head a time or two this weekend.
All three games will be broadcast live on FSN North, but check out the links at the top of this preview to get your tickets for this weekend’s games and make the trip down 169 to support the team. Tickets are only $14!
Written by: Cardinal on Mon 3/10/08 9:57 pm
Gophers Start Slow, Can't Catch Bulldogs
The Gophers just didn’t have much energy tonight; you could see it from the outset of the game. The Bulldogs had a bit more and capitalized on their chances as the Gopher seniors lose their final game in Mariucci by a 3 – 2 score.
It was a good game “for 20 minutes anyway” said coach Lucia after the game. “UMD was sharper from the get go, you could see that. They looked like they wanted the game more than we did tonight.”
The Gophers and Bulldogs played a really boring period aside from a large brawl in front of a stick wielding Alex Stalock, and another odd goal against.
About halfway through the period, a small scrum turned into a large one after Stalock decided to ring up Ben Gordon as he was tied up with someone in the crease. Gordon went after Stalock, which set off a melee with just about everyone on the ice. Oddly enough Stalock managed to escape penalty while Gordon was given an extra.
It didn’t matter much as there isn’t a whole lot more feeble than a Duluth power play. The Bulldogs did get on the board as Cody Danberg flipped a put from the corner that went off a Gopher defender in the crease and went over Kangas’s shoulder into the net.
The second period featured a lot more of the same, aside from players from both teams falling a lot. Of course, you had a bit more interaction between Gordon and Stalock that resulted in a Duluth-like power play by the Gophers.
At the 12:35 mark a horrible turnover in the Gopher end lead to a 2 – 0 Bulldog lead; Andrew Carroll put the puck out front, it bounced off a Gopher defender and went right to Mike Curry, who caught Kangas sliding the opposite way and snapped it into the net.
The Gophers got themselves back in the game, at least temporarily, with just over five minutes left in the period. Ben Gordon snapped a rebound over a diving Stalock when the Gophers had a five on three man advantage. Stalock was way out of position on the play, and no amount of complaining to the referee was going to overturn that goal.
“I’m kind of at a loss for words” said Gordon after the game. “It really hit me when we got off the ice that it’s the last time we’ll play a game out there.”
The Bulldogs got the winning goal by taking advantage of a penalty call at the end of the period. Drew Akins flipped a third attempt shot over a sprawling Kangas, and got what is usually a winning third goal for either one of these teams.
“Our kids played hard [with] a lot of intensity, we had a great second period” said Duluth coach Scott Sandelin. “Especially to score that quickly on the power play, in the last 30 seconds (of the period).”
The Gophers came out as a different team in the thir, and drew within one around the four minute mark of the third. The sea parted for Kevin Wehrs, and he danced to within a few feet of the goal. Stalock stopped his shot, but couldn’t control the rebound; Justin Bostrom pounced on it and put it in the open net.
Mike Hoeffel, who according to coach Lucia “is really coming on” had a fantastic third period, and had a couple of great looks, but couldn’t quite get the puck to settle down.
The Gophers will travel to Mankato next weekend to kick off the playoffs. “We always get a pretty good turn out down in Mankato with Gopher fans” according to coach Lucia. “It’s a good chance for a lot of Gopher fans to, maybe, infiltrate their arena and make it a little more of a neutral crowd.”
Well, that’s a nice little call out for all of us. We’ll see what happens this Friday night.
Written by: go4hcky on Sat 3/08/08 11:16 pm
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