University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Travel to Alaska For Two-Game Series
2/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Minnesota continues its quest for a first round home WCHA playoff series when the Gophers travel to face Alaska Anchorage on Friday and Saturday. The Gophers are coming off a three-point weekend against Wisconsin and enter the weekend four points out of fifth place in the standings. Fox Sports Net will televise both games live and they can also be heard live on WCCO 830 AM.
Series History
Minnesota leads the all-time series 44-15-5 in a series that began in 1986. The Gophers have won 11 of the last 13 meetings, though Alaska Anchorage took the most recent matchup by rallying with three third period goals for a 4-2 win at Mariucci Arena on Nov. 17. The Gophers won the previous night 3-0 with their only shutout this season. Minnesota has swept the Seawolves in its past two trips to Anchorage, including 8-2 and 2-1 wins last season.
About the Seawolves
Alaska Anchorage has lost six straight games and been in a recent scoring slump with eight goals over the current losing streak. In fact, the Seawolves have scored more than two goals in just two of their past 15 games. They are 1-11-3 over the span with the lone victory being a 4-0 win over Michigan Tech on Feb. 1. For the season, Alaska Anchorage is averaging 2.34 goals per game. The Seawolves were 4-3-3 after their win at Minnesota on Nov. 17, but they have a 3-15-4 record since. Kevin Clark leads the team in scoring with seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points. Josh Lunden is the top goal scorer with 13 goals and nine assists for 22 points. Jon Olthuis has played all but four games in goal and has a 2.93 goals against average with a .885 save percentage.
Last Time Out
Minnesota broke out of a recent offensive slump with a 4-2 win and 4-4 tie against Wisconsin last weekend. The Gophers scored goals in every period and also got two power play scores each game. Mike Carman had a goal and an assist and Tony Lucia picked up two assists on Friday for Minnesota, which equaled its goal total from the last four games and broke a six-game winless streak. The Gophers built a 3-0 lead through two periods and owned a 38-27 advantage in shots for the game. Minnesota had leads at four different points in Saturday’s game, but Wisconsin rallied to tie the game each time. Patrick White, Evan Kaufmann, Ben Gordon and Jay Barriball all scored goals for the Gophers.
Putting up Points
Minnesota’s offense erupted for eight goals in the series against Wisconsin after scoring a total of 10 goals in its previous eight games. The Gophers were four-for-10 on the power play against the Badgers, following a combined 1-for-36 output in the previous 10 games. The Gophers also scored goals in each period of both games, which is something that had happened in only three previous games all year. Minnesota is now 8-0-2 this season when scoring four or more goals and 11-1-3 when tallying three times or more.
Strong Starts
The Gophers continue to be an outstanding first period team and have now scored first in 25 of their 34 games. Minnesota has outscored its opponents 30-17 in the first period and has allowed two goals in the opening period only twice all season, including none of the last 24 games. The Gophers have outshot opponents 355-254 in the opening period and have allowed a total of five first period goals in the last 14 games.
Working Overtime
Minnesota’s overtime game on Saturday was its seventh in the last 11 games and the Gophers now have eight ties this season, which is one short of the school record set in 2002-03 and 1998-99. The Gophers are 0-3-8 in overtime games and their 11 overtime periods are two short of the school record set in 2002-03. In fact, Minnesota’s eight ties and 11 overtime games are the most of any team in college hockey this season. The Gophers’ opponent has scored the tying goal in 10 of the 11 overtime games.
Kangas Stands Tall
Minnesota freshman goaltender Alex Kangas has started the past 10 games and has played in 13 straight games for the Gophers. He allowed a season-high four goals against Wisconsin on Saturday, but also recorded a season-best 37 saves in the tie. Over the past 10 games, Kangas has a 1.92 goals against average and .930 save percentage with a 2-3-5 record. For the season, Kangas ranks 16th nationally with a 2.21 goals against average and a .922 save percentage. Both of those numbers rank second among all freshman goaltenders behind Colorado College’s Richard Bachman. Kangas did not face Alaska Anchorage in the first series this season.
Long Journey
Minnesota is heading to Alaska for the 17th consecutive season and the 19th time overall. The Gophers are 23-9-4 all-time in games played in the Last Frontier and are not scheduled to play in Alaska next season. The week after Minnesota goes to Alaska has been perhaps a bigger challenge as the Gophers have swept just one series when playing the following weekend in the past 15 years. Minnesota has lost the Friday immediately following an Alaska trip seven of the last eight times.
Taking the Leap
Friday’s game marks the sixth time the Gophers have played on leap day and Minnesota is 5-0 in its previous Feb. 29 contests. The Gophers beat St. Cloud State 4-1 in 1992, Notre Dame 3-2 in 1980, North Dakota 4-2 in 1964, Michigan Tech 5-3 in 1952 and Wisconsin 4-0 in 1924.
Barriball Breaks Out
Minnesota sophomore Jay Barriball scored his first goals since Dec. 29 with a goal in each game against Wisconsin. He now has five goals this season after scoring a team-high 20 goals last year as a freshman. Barriball missed the Saturday game at Denver with an injury and used the team’s bye week to recover and get back into the lineup last weekend.
Seeing White
Gophers’ freshman forward Patrick White scored goals in each game over the weekend, giving him five for the season. He had the game-winner on Friday and scored the first goal in Saturday’s contest. White was also plus-three for the weekend and leads the team with a plus-two rating for the year. He has not had a minus rating in a game since Dec. 29 against RIT. The Gophers are now 6-0-1 when he scores a point.
