University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Drop Series Opener at Wisconsin 3-1
1/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Tied in the middle of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings entering the night, Wisconsin took a two-point lead over Minnesota with a 3-1 victory in the opening game of a weekend series on Friday in Madison.
Minnesota found itself in an unusual position as the Gophers surrendered the game’s first goal for just the seventh time all season and only the fourth time in the past 20 games. The Gophers, who had trailed just one minute, 41 seconds in their past six contests, were behind nearly the entire way after Wisconsin took the lead 12:27 into the game and extended the lead to 2-0 in the second period.
The teams entered the game tied for fifth place in the WCHA with identical 6-8-2 league records as Minnesota dropped to 12-11-4 overall and Wisconsin is now 11-10-4. It marked the third straight game the Gophers have been held to one goal.
“They’re playing their best hockey of the year right now and we ran into a hot team,” Gophers’ coach Don Lucia said of the Badgers. “I thought (Wisconsin goalie Shane) Connelly played well. Sometimes it’s not just the flashy saves, but it’s the timely saves and he had some big ones tonight.”
Wisconsin scored the game’s first goal on a long shot from the point by Ryan McDonagh that was set up by a pass from the corner by Kyle Turris. Blake Geoffrion also assisted McDonagh’s shot that found itself through a screen and past Gophers’ goaltender Alex Kangas.
Turris put the Badgers ahead 2-0 at the 9:08 mark of the second period with a tremendous individual effort. Turris took a long pass from Cody Goloubef to get behind the defense. As he was challenged by a Minnesota defender, he put the puck on his backhand and slid it past Kangas.
Minnesota came to life in the final minute of the second period as Blake Wheeler won a faceoff just outside the Badgers’ zone. The puck deflected back to Wheeler and he took it to the goal himself for an unassisted score with 14.3 seconds left in the period. Immediately off the center ice faceoff, the Gophers had another of their best chances of the night with a two-on-one as Ben Gordon’s shot was saved by Connelly. Minnesota put 15 shots on goal in the second period after getting four opening period shots.
Ben Street scored 5:33 into the third period and Minnesota was held without a shot for over 12 minutes to open the stanza. The Badgers had the first 12 shots of the period and outshot the Gophers 13-4 in the frame, though Minnesota had more chances than Wisconsin and attempted 26 shots to Wisconsin’s 14.
For the game, Wisconsin owned a 30-23 advantage in shots on goal and neither team scored on three power play chances. The Gophers attempted 71 shots compared to 45 attempts for Wisconsin. Minnesota had 25 shots miss the net and another 22 blocked by the Badgers’ defense. Meanwhile, Wisconsin only missed eight times and had seven shots blocked.
Kangas made 27 saves for Minnesota and Connelly stopped 22 shots for Wisconsin. The teams meet again on Saturday at 7:07 p.m. at Kohl Center.
