University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Take on Huskies in Home-and-Home Series
1/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Minnesota looks to bounce back from its first weekend sweep of the season against the only team it has swept this year as the Gophers take on St. Cloud State in a rematch of the two one-goal games the teams played to open the season. The nearby rivals meet on Friday at Mariucci Arena and play Saturday in St. Cloud.
Last Time Out
The Gophers were swept by North Dakota in Grand Forks 6-3 and 6-1 last weekend. Minnesota was outshot 37-12 through the first two periods of Friday’s loss, but got two goals and an assist from Ryan Stoa and a goal and an assist from Jordan Schroeder. On Saturday, the Gophers fell behind 6-0 before Cade Fairchild scored a third-period goal. It was the first time the Gophers have allowed six goals in back-to-back games since a series at Denver on Feb. 27-28, 2004.
Series History
Recent tight games have been the norm in a series that Minnesota leads 43-23-12 all-time. The Gophers have won three straight one-goal games in the rivalry that has seen 11 of the past 12 meetings decided by two goals or less. Minnesota beat the Huskies 3-2 in St. Cloud to open the season and followed with a 2-1 win at Mariucci Arena the ensuing night. Mike Carman scored goals in each game for Minnesota and Jordan Schroeder had three assists for the weekend. The Gophers also beat St. Cloud State 3-2 in last year’s WCHA Final Five play-in game.
About the Huskies
St. Cloud State is coming off a weekend sweep of Minnesota Duluth that saw junior goaltender Jase Weslosky earn WCHA Player of the Week honors after making 28 saves in Friday’s 3-1 win and 29 stops in Saturday’s 6-3 victory. The Huskies had six different players score goals in the win on Saturday. Five of the Huskies’ six WCHA weekend series this season have resulted in sweeps. St. Cloud State has had most of its success at home with a 10-2-1 record at the National Hockey Center and a 2-7-1 mark away from home. The Huskies started the league season with three losses, but have won seven of the past 11 to even their WCHA record at 7-7. Sophomore forward Garrett Roe shares the conference lead in scoring and ranks fifth in the country in points with 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points. Junior Ryan Lasch, who led the WCHA in scoring last season, has seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points. Weslosky owns a 2.54 goals against average and .922 save percentage.
Killer Instinct
Minnesota features the nation’s best penalty killing unit, allowing just nine power play goals in 113 chances for a 92.0 percent success rate. North Dakota was two-for-10 on the power play last weekend and scored man-advantage goals in each game, marking the first time this season the Gophers have allowed more than one power play goal in a weekend series. Minnesota’s best penalty-killing season in school history was in 2000-01 when it killed off 88.5 percent of opponent power plays.
Starting Strong
Minnesota’s penalty kill has been at its best in the opening period as the Gophers have killed off 29 of 31 opponent power plays in the first period. The Gophers have not allowed a power play goal in the first period since surrendering a score to Michigan State on Nov. 29.
Special Effects
The Gophers’ special teams units have been truly special through 20 games, ranking second in the country in combined special teams. Minnesota ranks first nationally on the penalty kill and sixth on the power play. The Gophers’ power play ranks second in the WCHA behind Minnesota Duluth. Overall, the Gophers have been successful on 56.4 percent of their special teams situations to rank behind Boston University’s 57.5 percent. Last year, Minnesota ranked 30th in the country at 50.0 percent.
Been a While
The Gophers’ 6-1 loss to North Dakota on Saturday marked their largest margin of defeat in nearly five years since a 6-1 loss at Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 13, 2004. By comparison, since that loss Minnesota has won 17 games by five goals or more.
Back on the Bench
Minnesota head coach Don Lucia is expected to be back on the Gophers’ bench this weekend after missing the previous four games due to illness. Lucia returned to the ice this week for practice after missing the first games of his 22-year head coaching career. He did attend the Gophers’ game against Northeastern on Jan. 3 and watched from the press box and locker room television.
Power Surge
Minnesota has already tallied 23 power play goals this season after totaling 25 all of last season. The Gophers have scored man-advantage goals in 14 of 20 games and were held without a power play goal in a weekend series for the first time this season after going 0-for-7 at North Dakota. Minnesota ranks sixth in the country at 20.5 percent (23-for-112). The Gophers ranked 50th in the country on the power play last season at 13.0 percent.
Poll Position
The Gophers fell four spots to No. 7 in this week’s U.S. College Hockey Online/CBS College Sports rankings and dropped five spots to No. 8 in this week’s USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. Minnesota has been ranked in the top 10 of every national poll this season and had been in the top five of the rankings the past nine weeks.
Stoa Stats
Junior forward Ryan Stoa is the team’s leading scorer and ranks third nationally in points per game with 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points in 19 games. Stoa, who also ranks sixth in the county in goals per game, missed Saturday’s game at North Dakota with an injury and is questionable for this weekend’s series. Stoa has 11 goals in league games, which is the best in the WCHA, and his 21 league points ranks second. He has scored points in 15 of his 19 games.
