University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Face Minnesota State in Home-and-Home Series
11/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Minnesota aims for its first WCHA victories as the Gophers take on Minnesota State in a home-and-home series. Friday’s game is in Mankato and the teams return to Mariucci Arena for Saturday’s contest. Friday’s game is Minnesota State’s home opener. It is the only meeting of the season between the two in-state rivals. Both games will be televised on FSN North and broadcast on WCCO 830 AM.
The Series vs. Minnesota State
The Gophers lead the all-time series against Minnesota State 24-2-4 and are undefeated in the last 16 meetings with a 13-0-3 record. The Mavericks’ last win in the series was a 3-2 win in Mankato on Nov. 8, 2002. Minnesota State’s only victory at Mariucci Arena was a 6-5 overtime triumph on Jan. 29, 2000. The teams first met during the 1997-98 season.
The squads played four times last year with Minnesota winning three straight after a 5-5 tie in the first encounter at Mariucci Arena. The Gophers also won 2-1 at Mankato in December and swept a series in early January with a 5-1 road win and a 1-0 home victory.
About the Mavericks
Minnesota State has put on plenty of miles in its first six games this season prior to its home opener on Friday. The Mavericks were swept at Michigan Tech to open the year and then had a tie and a win at Alaska Anchorage before sweeping a series at Alabama Huntsville last weekend. The Mavericks scored 11 of their 16 goals this season against Alabama Huntsville.
Minnesota State has had 13 different players combine to score the team’s 16 goals this season. Mick Berge leads the team with three goals and also has one assist for four points. Trevor Bruess has a team-high five points with one goal and four assists.
The Mavericks have allowed just 13 goals in their six games as junior goaltender Mike Zacharias ranks ninth nationally with a 1.47 goals against average and 12th in the country with a .943 save percentage.
Last Time Out
Minnesota dropped a pair of games to Denver last weekend, marking the first time the Pioneers have swept the Gophers at Mariucci Arena since Dec. 10-11, 1994. The Pioneers took Friday’s game 5-1 and then posted a 4-1 victory on Sunday.
Minnesota put 37 shots on goal, but only managed one goal in the 5-1 loss. The Gophers fell behind 5-0 and scored their lone goal when Ryan Flynn tallied with an extra attacker midway through the third period. Minnesota outshot Denver in each period and held a 12-6 advantage in the opening stanza.
On Sunday, the Gophers’ Blake Wheeler scored the game’s first goal, but Denver’s Tyler Bozek finished with a hat trick, including two shorthanded goals, as the Pioneers rallied. Minnesota held a 33-23 advantage in shots and had a five-minute power play with 5:09 left when trailing 3-1 in the third period.
Starting Strong
Minnesota has outshot its eight opponents by a combined 83-57 in the first period this season, which is an average of just 7.1 shots on goal allowed in the opening period. In fact, the Gophers have not given up a goal in the first nine minutes of a game this season.
Power Supply
The Gophers have not found the net on the power play in the last seven games, but they’ve created plenty of opportunities. During their current 0-for-30 power play slump, Minnesota has put 55 shots on goal. The Gophers had 15 power play shots in Sunday’s game, including seven during Denver’s five-minute major penalty at the end of the third period. For the season, Minnesota has had 68 shots on the power play compared to 44 for its opponents.
Tough Test
The Gophers will look to get their power play on track this weekend against one of the nation’s stingiest penalty killing units. Through six games, Minnesota State has allowed just three power play goals in 35 chances for a 91.4 penalty killing rate. The Mavericks rank 12th in NCAA Division I hockey on the penalty kill and have held foes scoreless on 20 consecutive opponent power plays. All three power play goals allowed by Minnesota State this year came in the second game of the season at Michigan Tech.
Creating Chances
Minnesota has been held to one goal in each of its four WCHA games, but the Gophers have still managed plenty of offense. Minnesota has averaged 33.3 shots per game in its four WCHA contests and has outshot its opponents by a combined 133-102. The Gophers have outshot their conference foes by a combined total of 50-29 in the third period, but have been outscored 5-1.
Feeling Your Pain
While Minnesota has struggled scoring in league play, Minnesota State has had similar troubles. The Mavericks have tallied a total of five goals in their four league games. While the Gophers are 0-for-21 on the power play in WCHA games, Minnesota State is 1-for-22 with the man-advantage in league play.
Rivalry Success
Minnesota has had plenty of success against in-state rivals recently with a 21-5-4 record since the start of the 2004-05 season. The Gophers were 5-2-3 last year against teams from the North Star State with both losses coming in a late February series with St. Cloud State. During the span, the Gophers have outscored their neighbors 115-74.
Border Patrol
Minnesota has been outstanding in recent games played within state borders as the Gophers are 25-9-3 in games played in the state over the past two seasons. Minnesota is 4-2 this year and went 21-7-3 in such games last season.
One-Timers
Minnesota State is one of four WCHA teams the Gophers only play one series against this season. They also see Colorado College, St. Cloud State and Michigan Tech just once. Minnesota State and St. Cloud State are playing home-and-home series with the Gophers, while Minnesota does not play at Michigan Tech and does not host Colorado College.
Getting Defensive
Prior to last weekend’s games, Minnesota had held opponents to three goals or less in 13 straight games. The last time a team surpassed three goals was last season when Michigan Tech posted a 5-4 victory at Mariucci Arena. Denver’s empty net goal on Sunday was the first allowed by the Gophers since St. Cloud State hit an open net in a 5-3 win at Mariucci Arena on Feb. 24 of last season.
Odd Opening
Minnesota’s 0-4 league start is its first since the WCHA began in 1959-60. The Gophers did start 0-5 in the Western Intercollegiate Hockey League in 1956-57. That season had many paralells to this year as the Gophers won their first five non-conference games that season and then also lost their first four league games to Denver and Colorado College.
While the 0-4 start is unprecedented, Minnesota has experienced some tough starts in recent years and recovered for successful finishes. In 2003-04, the Gophers were 2-7-1 overall and 1-6-1 in the WCHA, but rallied to finish 27-14-3 overall and advance to the NCAA Frozen Four. The Gophers were 5-3-3 overall and 2-2-2 in the WCHA in 2002-03, but ended up 28-8-9 and won the NCAA championship.
Rank and File
At No. 14 in this week’s national poll, Minnesota is the highest four-loss team in the rankings. However, the ranking is the lowest for the Gophers since they were ranked 15th on Dec. 29, 2003. Minnesota went on a hot streak from that point, going 9-1-2 over the next six weeks to surge to fourth in the polls.
This week marks the 97th consecutive week during the hockey season that Minnesota has been ranked among the nation’s top 15. The Gophers had been ranked in the top 10 for 61 of the last 62 weeks. The last time they fell out of the top 10 was Nov. 7, 2005 after a loss and tie to Minnesota Duluth, but they returned to the top 10 the following week with a sweep of Alaska Anchorage.
Marginally Speaking
Friday’s four-goal margin was a rarity for the Gophers whose first six games this season had all been decided by two goals or less, including four one-goal games. The Gophers won three of the one-goal decisions. Dating to last season, Minnesota had played 12 straight games decided by two or less, including eight one-goal contests. The 5-1 home loss to Denver was Minnesota’s largest margin of defeat at Mariucci Arena since a 4-0 setback to Wisconson on Dec. 3, 2005.
Playing the Best
Minnesota’s start to the 2007-08 season has been part of a grueling stretch of games against top-notch competition to open the season. The Gophers have played seven straight games against ranked opponents, including five games against top 10 teams. After playing unranked Minnesota State and Alaska Anchorage the next two weeks, the Gophers embark on a stretch against No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 13 Michigan Tech and No. 4 North Dakota to close out the first half of the season.
Out of This League
The Gophers have won 13 straight games against non-WCHA opponents with their four wins this year. In Don Lucia’s eight-plus seasons as head coach, the Gophers have compiled a staggering 63-14-7 (.792) 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 52-7-7 record against non-conference foes since the 2001-02 season. Minnesota returns to non-conference play Nov. 23-24 at Michigan State and Michigan.
Spreading It Out
Minnesota forward Blake Wheeler leads the team with four goals and two assists for the season and has scored his six points over six different games. In fact, the Gophers have not had a player score multiple points in any of the past six games and have not had a player score more than one goal in a game this year.
Lockdown Defender
Freshman defenseman Cade Fairchild has not been on the ice for an opponent’s goal in an even-strength situation this season. He leads the team with a plus-five rating for the year. Fairchild has been on the ice for two opponent power play goals and received his first minus this year when in the game for Denver’s first shorthanded goal on Sunday.
Shorthanded Shooter
Senior forward Mike Howe has taken 19 shot attempts this year with six coming on shorthanded situations. In fact, Howe has attempted six of the team’s 12 shots on goal when shorthanded.
