Kangas Steals One For Gopher Six

The Gopher hockey squad escaped Madison with a series split, thanks to the efforts of goaltender Alex Kangas.

Despite being out-shot 47-28, the Gophers came away with a 5-2 victory over Wisconsin in the series finale. The junior goaltender stopped a career-high 45 shots en route to his finest performance of the season.

The Gophers picked up an early 2-0 lead on goals by Tony Lucia and Zach Budish. Despite the lead, the Gophers were out-shot by Wisconsin 17-6 in the first period, thanks primarily to consecutive penalties to Minnesota defenseman Kevin Wehrs which led to Sconnie power plays. Kangas held his ground, and the Gophers held the lead.

One had the feeling the game could have changed on a dime had Wisconsin scored even one goal at that point, but Kangas was not to be denied. When Patrick White scored late in the second period, the team provided itself with some breathing room, and the Gophers carried a 3-0 lead into the dressing room despite trailing on the shot clock 32-16.

Jake Gardiner's goal 28 seconds into the third period gave Wisconsin a much-needed burst of energy, but Brian Schack, a senior making his first appearance of the season, found the back of the net for the first time since his freshman year eight minutes later to up the lead to three. Ryan McDonagh swatted a shot out of mid-air at the 12:14 mark of the period to cut the lead to 4-2, but the Gophers salted the game away with Budish's empty-netter to give them the split.

The game wasn't pretty, and the Gophers were simply out-skated by the Badgers, but Kangas absolutely stole the game for the M&G. He played with a confidence seldom seen last season and the team provided him with some offense despite the lack of shots on net. Despite being largely out-played, the Gophers held the line on the penalty-kill, shutting the Badgers down on all five attempts, and they have now killed off the last 20 opposition power play chances.

The Gophers were also forced to do some lineup juggling this weekend thanks to injuries to Jay Barriball (knee surgery - out for the season) and Nick Leddy (broken jaw - out six weeks). Schack made his first appearance since last season at the expense of struggling sophomore defenseman Sam Lofquist, and the Gophers featured a lineup on Saturday which included seldom-used forwards Nick Larson and Joe Miller after forward Mike Hoeffel became ill during pregame warm-ups.

Lucia continued his red-hot streak with a goal and two assists. He now has 4-5-9 in his past four games after starting the season scoreless for the first two weeks. Budish picked up two goals for his first multi-goal game as a collegian and also added an assist.

Friday night's effort was not good, and Saturday's game wasn't pretty, but the Gophers will take the series split. They head home 3-4-1 overall and in the league and will face a tough Bemidji State team next weekend at Mariucci Arena for the first non-conference action of the season. Heading into that series working on a victory certainly beats the alternative.

Elsewhere in the WCHA:

• Alaska-Anchorage 7, Denver 3 - Series Split (Also note, UAA scored seven times on 18 shots. Think Denver misses injured goaltender Marc Cheverie?)
• Colorado College 6, UMD 2 - Series Split (Note: CC was 4-7 with the man-advantage)
• North Dakota 4, Michigan Tech 1 - North Dakota Sweep
• WCHA Standings

Gophers Miss Golden Opportunity For Successful Season

The Gopher football team could not have possibly looked worse than they did in the first half of Saturday's Big Ten clash against Illinois. Despite some improved second half play, the missed opportunities proved too hard to overcome and Illinois escaped with a 35-32 victory at TCF Bank Stadium.

The 2-6 Illini marched down the field after the opening kick, covering 80 yards on 10 plays, and took an early 7-0 lead. After some alternating punts, the Illini's Terry Hawthorne intercepted an ill-advised Adam Weber pass and returned it 44 yards for a TD and a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. After Kevin Whaley capped a nice drive with a 5-yard TD rush, Illinois scored touchdowns on their final two possessions of the first half and carried a 28-7 halftime lead.

Things improved for the Gophers to start the second half. The Gophers elected to run the ball against the Big Ten's worst rush defense after spending the first half trying to establish some sort of passing game. The result was a sustained drive which eventually took the Gophers to a first-and-goal situation at the Illinois one yard line. After an incomplete pass, Weber was sacked for a significant loss on second down, forcing a missed fade on third down, The subsequent Eric Ellestad field goal drew the consternation of the Gopher faithful, but it did cut the deficit to 28-10 and proved the Gophers could run the ball on Illinois.

The Illini had a three-and-out, and the Gophers cut into the lead further with a 11-play, 72-yard drive capped by a Jon Hoese TD reception. Hoese then scored another TD pass to cut the lead to 28-25 after the successful two-point conversion. The Gophers were down a field goal with 9:13 remaining and all the momentum on their side.

Illinois then had their backs to the wall and converted on two huge third downs, the latter a questionable four-yard TD reception by WR Arreolius Benn after significant contact. The Gophers trailed 35-25 and were forced to punt the ball away with over six minutes remaining after their own drive stalled. Illinois could do nothing on their drive, and were in punt formation with three minutes remaining in the game. Keanon Cooper blocked the Illinois punt and Ben Kuznia returned it the rest of the way to cut the lead to 35-32 with 3:04 to play.

An unsuccessful onside kick salted away the game for the Illini, and Illinois had its second-consecutive victory after starting the Big Ten schedule 0-5.

The decision to onside kick will be debated, but it was the right move. Minnesota had no timeouts left and were faced with a decision to try for a successful onside kick to allow the offense to move 20-30 yards for a tying field goal or to kick deep and hope the defense would stop the Illini. The kick achieved a fine bounce, but the Illini blocked the play perfectly, and it went out of bounds. Of course, Gopher Nation believed a deep kick should have been ordered once it was apparent the onside attempt failed - another nail in Tim Brewster's coffin.

Minnesota was out-gained by Illinois 351-271 in the game. Most telling was the 50 net yards achieved on the ground by the Gophers against the Big Ten's worst rush defense. Much of the poor total can be attributed to Illinois's seven sacks of Weber Saturday, and the Minnesota QB was under constant duress all game. Weber rebounded from a nightmarish 5-17, 74 yard first half to finish 14-31 for 221 yards, one TD and one INT. The Gophers were a respectable 8-15 on third down, but allowed Illinois to go 9-17 the other way.

First half mistakes cost the Gophers in this one. They played poorly and recovered a little too late. Now, the team sits at 5-5 with a non-conference game against South Dakota State next weekend. The Gophers should be bowl-eligible after the game, but they will head into the Big Ten finale at Iowa on November 21 with a Big Ten record of 3-4. They need a major upset of the Hawkeyes to have a chance to finish .500 in the Big Ten.

The team will be kicking themselves for a long time for letting this game go. Illinois's play-making QB Juice Williams did not play for the final three quarters after hurting his ankle, and the Gophers did not take advantage of the worst rush defense in the league. They also did not protect their quarterback to give him any chance to compete. This was a bad, bad, loss.

BTW - A big shout-out to the Gopher Nation fans who stuck this one out. The outcome was in doubt up until the final three minutes, but 50% of the faithful had already headed for the exits. Gotta love that loyal fan base! A much longer piece on this topic is planned for next week.

Sloppy Play Costs Gophers in Hockey Opener

The Gopher hockey team lost the series opener to Wisconsin on Friday night 4-2, and they have only themselves to blame.

Turning the puck over nearly 20 times, the Gophers were badly out-shot and, often times, badly out-played by the Badgers at the Kohl Center. Sconnie out-shot Minnesota 32-18 for the game, and the Badgers' stifling forecheck caused the Gophers problems all night long.

Blake Geoffrion scored 24 seconds into the game to give Wisconsin a 1-0 lead they would hold through the first period. Mike Hoeffel tied the score for the Gophers just 1:31 into the second frame, but Wisconsin's Cody Goloubef tallied off a Minnesota defensive zone turnover less than a minute later to give the Badgers the lead for good. Geoffrion's second goal of the game late in the second period gave Wisconsin a precious two-goal lead after two periods.

Patrick White answered on the power play halfway through the third period and gave the Gophers some jump in their collective step for the next seven minutes. However, Ben Street executed a perfect give-and-go pass from Michael Davies to salt the game away with 90 seconds remaining.

Alex Kangas played better than his 28-for-32 line suggests, as the Gophers once again left him out to dry far too many times. Brett Bennett was not nearly as busy on the other end of the ice for the Badgers, but kicked away 16 shots for his third win of the season.

The Gophers need to get it together Saturday night in order to have a chance as a series split. If they turn the puck over as much as they did Friday night and do not execute their face-offs better, they'll be run out of the building rather quickly.

Elsewhere in the WCHA:

• Denver 3, Alaska-Anchorage 2
• UMD 4, Colorado College 3
• North Dakota 4, Michigan Tech 2
• League Standings

Border Battle Opens Tough Month for Gopher Six

The month of November was going to be tough for the Gopher hockey team before the season even started. Taking a look at the schedule:

• November 6-7: at Wisconsin
• November 13-14: vs. Bemidji State
• November 20-21: vs. UMD
• November 27: at Michigan
• November 28: at Michigan State

All five of those teams are currently ranked in the top 20 in the latest USCHO.com poll.

Couple that with the Gophers' tough 0-3-1 start, including being shutout in all three losses, and that made last weekend's series against Alaska-Anchorage that much more critical for the team to pick up some wins, score some goals, and gain a little confidence heading into a very tough stretch. The Gophers scored nine goals and picked up two wins against UAA, but it came at a price when freshman defenseman Nick Leddy broke his jaw in a hit to his head in the first game of the series and will likely miss six weeks. Then, more bad news came in practice.

In a routine Tuesday morning practice, senior forward Jay Barriball injured his knee and will need surgery. The surgery, likely to take place Friday, will knock him out for the season.

Losing two regulars is not the way to start a tough month.

Still, the Gophers are operating with a bit more confidence going into this weekend's series than they were seven days ago. Getting two victories, even if they came at the expense of one of the WCHA's perennial bottom-feeders, silenced the critics for one week. Plus, they are heading into a place where they have enjoyed some road success over the years.

Since coach Don Lucia took over the program for the 1999-2000 season, the Gophers have achieved at least some level of success in Madison, albeit moderate. Taking a look at the series over the years:

• 1999-00: 0-2-0
• 2000-01: 1-1-0
• 2001-02: 1-1-0
• 2002-03: 2-0-0
• 2003-04: 0-1-1
• 2004-05: 1-1-0
• 2005-06: 2-0-0
• 2006-07: 1-1-0
• 2007-08: 0-1-1
• 2008-09: 1-0-1
• Total: 9-8-3

Not exactly a sterling record, but Wisconsin is a tough draw each year and the Kohl Center is historically a very difficult place to play. The building boasts the league's largest capacity, and things are always hopping in that building. To have a mark over .500 in ten seasons is solid.

The Badgers are off to a bit of a sluggish start to the season but are fresh off an impressive sweep of New Hampshire last weekend. UW outscored the Wildcats 10-2 and completely dominated the play all weekend. Including the past weekend's sweep, Wisconsin is 3-2-1 on the season and 1-2-1 in the WCHA.

Wisconsin is led in the scoring department by junior defenseman Brendan Smith (2-7-9) and sophomore forward Derek Stepan (3-2-5). Freshman defenseman John Ramage (2-3-5) is off to a fine start to his collegiate career, and veterans Blake Geoffrion (3-1-4) and Jordy Murray (3-1-4) add leadership. The Badgers are blessed with a host of solid, puck-moving defensemen in Smith, Ramage, Ryan McDonagh, and Jake Gardiner.

In the nets, the Badgers were tasked with replacing two-year starter Shane Connelly, and have done so this season with a tandem. Returnee Scott Gudmandson (3 GP, 1-1-1, 1.63 GAA, .938 Sv%) and Boston University transfer Brett Bennett (3 GP, 2-1-1, 1 SO, 1.34 GAA, .931 Sv%) have been excellent so far this season.

It will be a difficult two games for the Gophers in Madison. They do not have the weight of a winless season on their collective backs. Several players picked up their first points last weekend, most prominently Tony Lucia (3-2-5, WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors) and Jordan Schroeder (0-4-4). Mainstays Aaron Ness, Zach Budish, and Cade Fairchild each picked up their first points of the season. Junior Alex Kangas played both games in goal and was solid each night, racking up two wins.

This weekend marks the beginning of a tough month. The Gophers have had some adversity in this young season, both on and off the ice. At least there isn't the same pressure they faced a week ago. Look for a confident Gopher team to show up in Madison Friday night.

Prediction: Split

• UW Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
• UM Schedule, Team Stats, Roster

Disappointment in Champaign Leads to Opportunity For Gophers

Two seasons ago, the University of Illinois marched into Ohio Stadium to take on the top-ranked and undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes in a late-season matchup. The Illini was 7-3 and was looking at an outside chance at a nice bowl game. Ohio State was 10-0 and had a 20-game Big Ten winning streak and a 28-game regular season winning streak.

Illinois shocked OSU that day, thanks to the play of sophomore quarterback Isiah "Juice" Williams. The Juice was not particularly spectacular throwing the ball that day (12-22 and 140 yards), but he threw for four touchdowns against no interceptions. Moreover, he rushed 16 times for 70 yards, including some crucial third-down plays on Illinois's final drive to run out the clock. The result was a shocking 28-21 upset victory over the #1 team in the nation. Illinois beat Northwestern the following week and qualified for the school's second BCS berth. The magic ran out in the Rose Bowl against USC, as the Illini lost 49-17. However, coach Ron Zook appeared to have the Fighting Illini on the right track.

In 2008, with a returning Williams at quarterback, the Illini stumbled out of the gate and never really recovered. A year after qualifying for the BCS, the Illini finished a disappointing 5-7. Things have been no better this season. Again, the season started with a loss to Missouri, but this time it was a thumpin', 37-9. After pounding Illinois State the following week, Illinois lost its next five games and started the Big Ten season 0-5, including losses to un-ranked Indiana, Purdue, and Michigan State.

Illinois righted the ship last weekend with an impressive 38-13 victory over enigmatic Michigan, out-scoring the Wolverines 31-0 in the second half. Still, the 2009 season has been an unmitigated disaster for Zook and his charges.

Probably most disappointing has been the play of Williams. After looking to be one of the conference's most exciting players as a sophomore, he has been erratic since. He had a nice bounce-back game last weekend against Michigan (8-11 for 123 passing, 1 TD; 21 carries for 97 yards rushing, 1 TD), but consistency has been his problem.

The team's rushing attack is led rusher by sophomore back Mikel LaShoure, who has averaged almost seven yards per carry in his 435 yards on the ground. He is also coming off consecutive 100-yard games, including 150 yards on 21 carries last week in the win over Michigan. Williams is next with 374 yards on 111 carries, which is evidence of the team's willingness to let the QB keep the ball on the ground. Williams has passed for 1,086 yards and five TD this season, but has also thrown five interceptions. Among his receivers, Williams looks to junior Arrelious Benn (26 catches for 298 yards) and senior Chris Duvalt (11 catches for 158 yards). However, this is a running team.

Illinois has struggled scoring points on offense. Even including last week's 38-point explosion against Michigan, the Illini has scored only 151 points in its eight games, against 207 points surrendered. The Gophers, on the other hand, have scored 211 and surrendered 235 in their nine games.

The Gophers are coming off a victory against Michigan State which should have been far more impressive than the 42-34 final score. The team notched 505 yards of total offense and forced three Michigan State turnovers. QB Adam Weber had the bounceback game is desperately needed, going 19 for 31 for 416 yards and five touchdowns against only one interception, in route to Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors. Still, the school record 17 penalties for a school record 157 yards kept the game in doubt throughout. However, give the Gophers some credit for actually winning the game.

Saturday's game is a big opportunity for the Gophers to make a statement. It's a game they should absolutely win. Even though the Illini is coming off an impressive victory over Michigan, the team is still 2-6 on the season and just 1-5 in Big Ten play. The Gophers are a better team on both sides of the ball and should be able to control the play. The offense should be able to move the ball against the Illinois secondary and the defense should be able to keep an offense which has struggled to score points in check.

If the Gophers will, they'll be 6-4 and bowl-eligible with a non-conference home game against South Dakota State the following weekend. Iowa looms in the season's final week, and going to Iowa 7-4 is a much better situation than what was feared just one week ago. This team is much better than last year's squad which started 7-1, and this year's schedule has been tougher. The Gophers need to demonstrate their improvement by taking care of business at home against an inferior Illinois team on Saturday.

Prediction: Gophers 31, Illinois 14

Note: Following his arrest stemming from his actions outside a campus pizza place over the weekend, Gopher freshman DB Michael Carter will play this weekend against Illinois. The cover man has played a lot this season as the fifth defensive back and should see significant time again this weekend. The highly-recruited freshman out of Pompano Beach, FL was a three-star recruit by the Rivals.com publication and was ranked as the #12 cornerback, and the competing Scouts, Inc. publication had him ranked as the 17th-best corner coming out of high school. Carter is a cousin of Gopher all-time leading tackler Tyrone Carter, who wore the maroon and gold from 1996-1999 and was an All-America selection in 1998 and 1999.

Gopher Cagers Dominate UMD in Pre-Season Action

The Gopher basketball team absolutely dominated UMD on Thursday night, winning 114-47 at Williams Arena.

The game was played without suspended players Royce White, Devron Bostick, and Trevor Mbakwe, but the rest of the team was fine.

Damian Johnson had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and freshman Rodney Williams finished with 11 points, three blocks, and two steals. Lawrence Westbrook had 19 points on 8-12 shooting, Devoe Joseph had 18 points on 8-13 shooting, while Ralph Sampson III (13) and Colton Iverson (12) also scored in double-figures.

The Gophers play another exhibition game Monday night against MSU-Moorhead before beginning regular season play.

Now much can be gleaned from this win, but it is an almost certainty that the Gophers will be more athletic once White and Bostick return to the floor. The team lost two players off a squad which went to the NCAA Tournament one season ago, and was supplemented by a top-25 recruiting class.

It will be tough-sledding in the Big Ten this season, but the Gophers will be near the top when the dust settles.

This Weekend in the WCHA....

The league returns to strictly conference play this weekend and eight of the ten member schools are in action against one another. St. Cloud State and Minnesota State will take this week off.

In other league action this weekend:

Denver at Alaska-Anchorage:

• Records: Denver - 5-2-1 (3-0-1 in WCHA); Alaska-Anchorage - 3-5-0 (1-3-0 in WCHA)
• Denver will play its first weekend series without goaltender Marc Cheverie (pictured right), who suffered a deep cut to his left calf and will miss at least two weeks. Cheverie had sported three-consecutive shutouts and captured WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors the week before he was injured. DU will have to fend for themselves with Adam Murray between the pipes. Murray played in last weekend's 4-4 Saturday night tie with Minnesota State, giving the Pioneers three of a possible four points last weekend.
• UAA returns home after being swept by Minnesota in Minneapolis. The Seawolves won their last home game against North Dakota 2-1 before the weekend sweep at Minnesota. UAA is led in the scoring department by upperclassmen Tommy Grant (3-3-6) and Kevin Clark (4-2-6), each with six points in UAA's eight starts.
• The all-time series is 39-14-5 in favor of the Pioneers, including 17-7-4 in Anchorage. In the last twelve meetings in Alaska, DU is 10-0-2.
• DU and UAA met for two series last season. In the regular season meeting, the teams split the two games at Magness Arena in Denver. The Pioneers swept the Seawolves out of the first round of the WCHA playoffs last March.
• Not sure why this is funny department - Denver has a "New Testament Line," made up of Matt Glasser, Luke Salazar, and Jesse Martin. Gotta love a line which has Biblical implications.
• DU Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
• UAA Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
• Prediction: Denver Sweep

UMD at Colorado College

• Records: UMD - 5-2-1 (3-1-1 in WCHA); Colorado College - 4-1-1 (3-0-1 in WCHA)
• After a week idle, CC returns to its home ice this weekend. Despite sitting idle, the Tigers managed to jump up three spots in this week's USCHO.com poll, checking in in the twelfth spot.
• Joe Howe continues to impress early on. The freshman has answered concerns left by the departure of two-year starter Richard Bachman to the NHL and has played extremely well. In five starts, Howe has sported a 4-0-1 record and has notched a .935 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.17. His play has cemented him in the starter's position and has led one fellow freshman goaltender, Hudson Stremmel, to leave the program this week for Canadian junior hockey.
• UMD gets back into conference play after sweeping Clarkson last weekend in Duluth. The Bulldogs are back in the top 20 this week (#20) after a one-week hiatus.
• The high-scoring Bulldogs have the three most prolific scorers in the WCHA. Jack Connolly (6-8-14), Justin Fontaine (7-5-12, and pictured right), and Rob Bordson (3-8-11) are the top three scorers in the league. In fact, Connolly and Fontaine have scored half of UMD's goals this season.
• The all-time series stands at 81-74-6 in favor of Colorado College. Last season, the teams met for one series in the regular season and once in the WCHA first round of the playoffs. After a tie, the Bulldogs won all three remaining games, including a sweep in the playoffs. All games took place in Colorado Springs.
• UMD Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
• CC Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
• Prediction: Split

North Dakota at Michigan Tech

• Records: North Dakota - 4-1-1 (2-1-1 in WCHA); Michigan Tech - 2-4-0 (1-3-0 in WCHA)
• After a week off, the Fighting Sioux make their annual trek to the UP of Michigan to take on Michigan Tech. The Sioux are #3 in the USCHO.com poll this week and check in at #2 in the USA Today version.
• An interesting note on the Fighting Sioux is that they have the nation's best penalty-kill at 96.4% going into the weekend series. UND has killed 27 of 28 opposing penalties.
• Michigan Tech's senior captain Malcolm Gwilliam is on a four-game points streak and has notched 5-3-8 in the team's six games. The Huskies are led in scoring by sophomore Brett Olson (4-6-10, and pictured right).
• Last season, the teams met for one series in the regular season and one in the playoffs. After an initial tie, the Sioux won the remaining three games, including a first-round sweep of the Huskies in the WCHA first round of the playoffs. The teams also met in non-conference action for the third place game of the Great Lakes Invitational tournament last holiday season, and the game was won by Michigan Tech. It would be MTU's last victory until they beat Minnesota in early March (12 games, 0-7-5).
• In the all-time series, UND holds a 136-90-9 overall advantage and is 57-55-5 all-time in Houghton.
• UND Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
• MTU Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
• Prediction: North Dakota Sweep

Minnesota at Wisconsin - Preview will appear on this site Friday morning.

Enjoy this weekend's action and check here for updates throughout the weekend. Also, please check the blogroll for all the latest on each member school from beat writers and bloggers.