University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers and Mavericks Set For Weekend Series
1/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Minnesota opens a home-and-home series against Minnesota State by making its first trip back to Mankato since last year’s thrilling WCHA first round playoff series that featured three overtime games. The Gophers also look to keep pace in a tight race in the league standings with two games against the Mavericks, who have lost 10 of their past 13 games.
Last Time Out
The Gophers posted their second sweep of St. Cloud State this season by exploding for 13 goals in the series and winning 5-1 and 8-6. Minnesota had 13 different players record points in the first game win and then had 10 different players score goals in their highest-scoring contest in the past 81 games the following night.
Series History
Minnesota leads the all-time series 28-3-6 over the Mavericks and are 20-1-4 over the past 25 meetings with the only loss coming 1-0 in double overtime in the opening game of last year’s WCHA playoff series. The Gophers tied Minnesota State 3-3 at Mariucci Arena and beat the Mavericks 6-3 in the Minnesota Hockey Showcase at the Xcel Energy Center earlier this season. The teams have played seven one-goal games and two ties in the last 12 meetings. The Mavericks’ only all-time win at Mariucci Arena was a 6-5 overtime win on Jan. 29, 2000.
About the Mavericks
Minnesota State was nationally ranked for much of the season, but has fallen on tough times recently with a 3-10 record over the past 13 games. The Mavericks were swept last weekend at Minnesota Duluth by 4-0 and 7-4 scores. They led Saturday’s game 4-3 with less than nine minutes left before the Bulldogs erupted for four late goals. Minnesota State has allowed 3.92 goals per game over the past 13 games after giving up just 2.57 goals per game over the first 14 games of the year. The Mavericks have lost six straight series openers after going 5-0-2 in series openers over the first seven weekends of the season. Sophomore Kurt Davis leads the team in scoring and ranks fourth nationally in scoring by defensemen with five goals and 22 assists for 27 points. Freshman Mike Louwerse has a team-high 11 goals, including eight on the power play. Senior goaltender Mike Zacharias has a 3.08 goals against average and .900 save percentage while playing in 24 of the team’s 27 games. Zacharias had some of his best games against Minnesota last year with a 1.68 goals against average and .938 save percentage in four starts in 2007-08.
Killer Instinct
Minnesota features the nation’s best penalty killing unit, allowing just 11 power play goals in 128 chances for a 91.4 percent success rate. St. Cloud State was 2-for-15 on the power play with both goals coming on Saturday, marking the first time this season the Gophers have allowed more than one power play goal in a game. Minnesota’s best penalty-killing season in school history was in 2000-01 when it killed off 88.5 percent of opponent power plays.
Among the Best
Minnesota features two of the nation’s top six individual scorers as Ryan Stoa ranks second with 1.43 points per game and Jordan Schroeder is sixth at 1.35 points per game. Stoa ranks only behind Quinnipiac’s Brian Leitch, who averages 1.71 points per game. Stoa has 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points in 21 games. Schroeder has 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points in 20 games.
Stoa Stats
Junior forward Ryan Stoa had the first four-point game of his career against St. Cloud State and leads the WCHA in goals and points, despite playing fewer games than many of the league’s other top players. In his 15 WCHA games, Stoa has 13 goals and 25 points. He has scored multiple points in nine of his 15 conference games.
Rookie Raves
Schroeder is the top freshman scorer among all Division I players with his 1.35 points per game. He has a four-game scoring streak and points in 16 of his 20 games played. Only two other freshmen players in the country are averaging at least one point per game.
League Laurels
The Gophers had two of the league’s weekly award winners after the sweep of St. Cloud State. Mike Hoeffel had three goals and one assist to earn WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors, while Aaron Ness collected four assists for Rookie of the Week laurels. Hoeffel won the rookie award last season, while Ness won his second league award in three weeks after taking defensive honors after his tournament MVP award at the Dodge Holiday Classic. 
Special Effects
The Gophers’ special teams units have been truly special through 22 games, ranking second in the country in combined special teams. Minnesota ranks first nationally on the penalty kill and fifth on the power play. The Gophers’ power play ranks second in the WCHA behind Minnesota Duluth. Overall, the Gophers have been successful on 57.7 percent of their special teams situations to rank behind Boston University’s 58.3 percent. Last year, Minnesota ranked 30th in the country at 50.0 percent.
Power Surge
Minnesota has already tallied 26 power play goals in 22 games this season after totaling 25 in their 45 games last season. The Gophers have scored man-advantage goals in 16 of 22 games and rank fifth in the country at 21.7 percent (26-for-120). The Gophers ranked 50th in the country on the power play last season at 13.0 percent.
Offensive Outburst
The Gophers’ 13 goals in the weekend sweep of St. Cloud State were their most in a weekend since totaling 13 against Michigan and Michigan State on Nov. 24-25, 2006. Minnesota’s eight goals in the Saturday were its most in 81 games, dating to an 8-2 win at Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 2, 2007. The 14 combined goals were the most in a Gophers’ game since Minnesota beat St. Cloud State 8-7 in overtime in the 2006 WCHA Final Five.
Blueline Boost
Sophomore Cade Fairchild has seven points over the past four games and ranks second nationally in scoring among defensemen with five goals and 16 assists for 21 points and 1.05 points per game. Only Wisconsin’s Jamie McBain has a better scoring average with 1.08 points per game. Fairchild totaled two goals and 13 assists for 15 points all of last season. He also has a team-high 12 power play points and four power play points.
Added Offense
Fairchild leads a Gophers’ defensive unit that has provided additional offense this year, combining for 57 points in 22 games for an average of 2.59 points per game. Minnesota’s defensemen scored 76 points in 45 games last year to average 1.69 points per game.
Splitting the Difference
Through 22 games, Minnesota has allowed 60 goals, which is same number of goals it allowed last year through that span. However, the difference is that Minnesota has scored 15 more goals at this point in the season that it did last year (76 scored this year - 61 last year). The Gophers will have to keep improving defensively to match last year’s pace, considering they allowed just an average of 2.13 goals over the final 23 games of the season.
