University of Minnesota Athletics
Men's Hockey Opens Home Schedule With Ohio State
10/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Minnesota plays its first home games this weekend with three games, hosting Ohio State on Thursday and Friday before taking on the U.S. Under-18 team in an exhibition game on Saturday. Both games against the Buckeyes will be televised regionally on FSN North. The Gophers were swept last weekend on the road for the first time since 2004 with two WCHA-opening losses at Colorado College. Minnesota is 10-1 all-time in the series with Ohio State.
The Series vs. Ohio State
The Golden Gophers hold a 10-1 all-time record against the Buckeyes in a series dating back to 1968. Minnesota swept Ohio State 7-2 and 6-3 last season in its first-ever visit to Columbus. The Gophers are 5-1 against the Buckeyes at home and have won all three meetings on neutral ice. This weekend’s games mark the first time Ohio State has played a two-game series at Mariucci Arena since Minnesota posted a sweep on Jan. 2-3, 1981. The Gophers have outscored the Buckeyes 68-27 in their 10 meetings. Minnesota’s only loss in the series came in the third-place game of the Dodge Holiday Classic on Dec. 28, 1998 as the Buckeyes scored with seven seconds left in regulation for a 6-5 victory.
About the Buckeyes
Ohio State opened the year by capturing the Lefty McFadden Invitational in Dayton, Ohio with a 2-1 comeback win over Mercyhurst and a 5-2 victory over Wisconsin in the title game. The Buckeyes lost their conference-opening series last weekend against Miami with a pair of 5-1 defeats in a home-and-home series. Ohio State’s nine goals this season have come from eight different players as senior Tommy Goebel is the only player with two goals. The Buckeyes have played seven seniors and 11 freshmen among the 23 players who have seen the ice this season. Sophomore goaltender Joseph Palmer has played every minute in goal and has a 3.50 goals against average with an .850 save percentage.
Last Time Out
Minnesota dropped both ends of its WCHA-opening series at Colorado College with a 3-1 setback on Friday and a 2-1 overtime loss on Saturday. After each team scored a first period goal, Colorado College tallied 25 seconds into the second period on Friday. Cade Fairchild scored the Gophers’ lone goal as Minnesota had a 13-6 advantage in shots in the first period. Each team had 24 shots on goal as Richard Bachman made 23 saves in his collegiate debut for the Tigers. On Saturday, Blake Wheeler gave Minnesota a one-goal lead in the second period before the Tigers caught the Gophers on a long second period line change for a power play goal later in the period. Minnesota put 21 shots on goal in the third period and 39 for the game, but the Tigers’ Chad Rau scored the game-winner 2:42 into overtime.
Mirror Images
Minnesota and Ohio State have had remarkably similar starts to the 2007-08 season:
* - Both squads won their season-openers by rallying from third period deficits. Minnesota trailed Rennselaer 3-1 in the final period and came back for a 4-3 win, while Ohio State scored two third period goals for a 2-1 win over Mercyhurst.
*- Both teams claimed tournament titles on the opening weekend as Minnesota beat Michigan for the IceBreaker tournament crown and Ohio State topped Wisconsin for the Lefty McFadden Invitational championship.
*- Both teams opened 0-2 in league play last weekend against highly-ranked opponents with Minnesota losing twice at now fourth-ranked Colorado College and the Buckeyes dropping both ends of a home-and-home series with second-ranked Miami.
* -Both teams had struggles on the power play last weekend as Minnesota was 0-for-11 and Ohio State was 1-for-13.
* -Both teams have had balanced scoring through four games. Minnesota has had eight different players score its 10 goals, while Ohio State has had eight players combined for its nine goals. Each team has one player with multiple goals through four games.
*- Both teams have used one goaltender in all four games this season.
Odd Opening
Minnesota opened 0-2 in the WCHA for just the second time in the last 14 years and fourth time since 1973-74. It hasn’t mattered much, however, since the Gophers still advanced to the NCAA tournament the last four times they started 0-2, including three WCHA playoff titles. Minnesota was also 0-2 in 2003-04, 1993-94 and 1989-90. The only time the Gophers were 0-3 during that span was in 1993-94. They also lost their first two league games in 1973-74 and went on to win their first NCAA title.
CCHA Dominance
Minnesota has had plenty of success in recent years against the other major western hockey conference, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The Gophers are 15-1-2 in their last 18 games against the rival league with the only loss coming in the 2005-06 season opener to Alaska. The Gophers also tied Alaska the following night and played a tie at Michigan State later that season. Minnesota went 5-0 against the CCHA last year, sweeping Ohio State and also beating Michigan, Michigan State and Ferris State. The Gophers are 6-0-2 in their last eight games against the CCHA, including their win over Michigan earlier this year. Following this weekend’s series with Ohio State, the Gophers have two games remaining with CCHA opponents at Michigan State and Michigan.
Big Ten Bullies
Although the Golden Gophers play in the WCHA, there are some strong ties to the three other Big Ten teams that sponsor hockey. Minnesota owns a solid 385-234-38 (.615) record against Big Ten foes Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin with winning records against each. Under coach Don Lucia, Minnesota is 19-5-2 (.769) against Big Ten opponents. The Gophers went 8-1 against Big Ten foes last season and beat Michigan earlier this year. Before Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State joined the CCHA, the five teams competed for the Big Ten Championship. Between 1959 and 1981, Minnesota captured 10 titles, while Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin each took home five (including co-champs).
Out of This League
In Don Lucia’s eight-plus seasons as head coach, the Gophers have compiled a staggering 61-14-7 (.787) record in games against teams from outside the WCHA, including the postseason. Minnesota went 9-1 against non-WCHA opponents last season with its only loss coming in the season opener against Maine. The Gophers boast a 50-7-7 record against non-conference foes since the 2001-02 season, including their wins over Rensselaer and Michigan earlier this season.
Triple Play
This weekend marks a rare regular season three-game series for the Gophers, who play an exhibition game with the U.S. Under-18 team on Saturday. The last time Minnesota scheduled regular season games on three consecutive days was Dec. 27-29, 1973. The Gophers beat Harvard and lost to St. Louis University in the St. Louis holiday tournament and then came home and suffered a 7-1 exhibition game loss to the Czech national team at the Met Center in Bloomington. Minnesota has played three consecutive days several times in the postseason, including last season’s WCHA first round series with Alaska Anchorage.
Thursday Night Special
Minnesota is playing a rare Thursday-Friday home series this week. Excluding games in the holiday classic that have fallen on Thursdays, the last time the Gophers played a Thursday night regular season game was Jan. 31, 1991 when they hosted Minnesota Duluth in the first game of a two-game series. The last Thursday game overall was against Union in the Dodge Holiday Classic on Dec. 29, 2005. Minnesota has played several Thursday exhibition, Final Five and Frozen Four games.
Pro Prospects
This weekend’s series features 20 players holding National Hockey League draft rights. Minnesota has 14 players in its lineup that have been drafted by NHL teams, while Ohio State has six players with NHL draft rights. Minnesota’s Blake Wheeler (Phoenix), Kyle Okposo (New York Islanders), David Fischer (Montreal) and Patrick White (Vancouver) were all first round picks. The Gophers’ Jeff Frazee (New Jersey) and Mike Hoeffel (New Jersey) were second round picks along with Ohio State’s Tom Fritsche (Colorado). This season marks the seventh straight year that Minnesota has had at least 10 players on its roster with NHL draft rights.
Road Rarity
Minnesota has been outstanding in road games in recent years and suffered its first sweep away from home last weekend since Feb. 27-28, 2004 at Denver. The losses also marked the first time the Gophers dropped a weekend series at Colorado College since Feb. 5-6, 1999, which was prior to Don Lucia’s arrival as head coach. Under Lucia, the Gophers are 79-43-14 away from home, including a 13-2-1 mark last season. With a loss at St. Cloud State in the final road game last year, the Gophers have lost three straight on the road after posting a remarkable 22-1-4 record over their previous 27 road contests.
Power Shortage
Minnesota’s power play had a strong debut with three goals in its first 10 chances in the season-opener against Rensselaer. However, since Kyle Okposo’s game-winning goal with 1:11 remaining in that game, the Gophers have not scored on their last 16 power play opportunities. The Gophers are 3-for-26 on the power play this season, which is reminiscent of last year when Minnesota was 3-for-24 over its first three games before breaking out by scoring in eight of 16 chances in the series sweep of Ohio State. The Gophers finished the season seventh nationally at 20.6 percent.
Balanced Attack
Minnesota has featured a balanced offensive attack with eight players combining to score the team’s 10 goals this season. Only Blake Wheeler has multiple goals for the Gophers, finding the net three times this season. Minnesota also has had 14 different players combine for the team’s 27 points this year.
Among the Best
Minnesota is ranked 10th in both of this week’s national polls and has now been ranked in the nation’s top 15 for 95 consecutive weeks during the hockey season. Minnesota has not fallen out of the top 15 since the week of Dec. 15, 2003. This week’s ranking snapped a string of 25 consecutive weeks that the Gophers had been ranked among the nation’s top five teams. Minnesota has still been ranked among nation’s top 10 for 60 of the last 61 weeks during the hockey season. The Gophers dropped to 13th for one week on Nov. 7, 2005 after a loss and tie to Minnesota Duluth, but returned to the top 10 after sweeping Alaska Anchorage.
Home Sweet Home
Minnesota owns a 5-2-1 record in its eight home openers under head coach Don Lucia. The Gophers’ only losses were in 2005-06 to Alaska and in 2003-04 to Minnesota Duluth. Minnesota is 10-0-1 in its last 11 home non-conference games, having won 10 straight.
Stoa Out
Minnesota will play the remainder of the season without junior forward Ryan Stoa, who suffered a knee injury early in the second game of the season against Michigan and will require surgery. An assistant captain, Stoa scored the team’s first goal of the season to spark a comeback from a three-goal deficit against Rensselaer. He also assisted Kyle Okposo on the game-winning goal with 1:11 remaining in the third period. The Bloomington, Minn. native ranked seventh on the team with 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points during 2006-07. Stoa played in all 41 games as a freshman and appeared in 41 of 44 games last season. Including his goal and assist last weekend, Stoa has 23 goals and 28 assists for 51 career points.
Wheeler Rolling
Minnesota junior Blake Wheeler leads the team with three goals and one assist and has scored one point in each of the team’s four games this year. Wheeler also had a strong finish to the 2006-07 season with four goals and an assist in the team’s two WCHA Final Five games.
Child’s Play
Minnesota freshman defenseman Cade Fairchild has had a strong start to his collegiate career, posting a goal and an assist in his first two games after not playing in the season opener. In three games, Fairchild also leads the team with a plus-four rating, which is remarkable considering the team has been outscored 8-6 and lost two of those three games.
Streak Snapped
Gophers’ forward Jay Barriball had three assists in the team’s first two games, but had a seven-game scoring streak snapped in the opener at Colorado College.
