University of Minnesota Athletics
Hockey Season Heats Up Fast at North Dakota
10/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Minnesota (0-0, 0-0) at North Dakota (2-0, 0-0)
Date: Friday-Saturday, Oct. 16-17
Time: 7:30 p.m. (Fri.) / 7 p.m. (Sat.)
Location: Engelstad Arena (11,406)
Series History: Minnesota leads 137-124-12
Radio: KYCR 1570 AM (tape on Sat.) - Wally Shaver and Glen Sonmor
Television: Fox Sports North - Frank Mazzocco and Doug Woog
Weekend Overview
College hockey's most-played rivalry gets an early start this season as Minnesota opens its 2009-10 season at Western Collegiate Hockey Association rival and defending league champion North Dakota. It marks the first time the Gophers have ever opened the year with a WCHA series in Grand Forks and just the second time they've opened at North Dakota overall, having played the opening game at Englestad Arena in 2001 in a game that did not count in the league standings. North Dakota opened its season last weekend with a sweep over Hockey East member Merrimack.
Last Time Out
Minnesota dominated British Columbia 6-1 in an exhibition game on Oct. 4, despite having started official practice just one day prior. The Gophers had six different players score goals and outshot the Thunderbirds 44-11, including 24-2 in the third period. Nico Sacchetti, Jay Barriball and Cade Fairchild each had a goal and two assists to lead the Gophers offensively, while Kent Patterson played the first two periods in net and totaled eight saves.
Series History
The Gophers lead the all-time series 137-124-12, though North Dakota won both meetings last year with 6-3 and 6-1 victories at home. The Fighting Sioux are 7-2-1 in the last 10 encounters with the Gophers. Prior to last year's sweep, four of the previous six meetings had gone to overtime and eight of the previous nine had been decided by two goals or less. The Gophers also are 4-3 in their last seven games at Englestad Arena.
About the Fighting Sioux
North Dakota opened its season with a home sweep of Merrimack by 5-2 and 3-2 scores last weekend. The Fighting Sioux controlled both games, outshooting Merrimack 40-17 on Friday and 35-18 on Saturday. Freshman forward Michael Cichy had a goal and two assists in his collegiate debut series and was named the WCHA Rookie of the Week. Brad Eidsness played both games in goal, finishing with 15 saves on Friday and 16 saves on Saturday. The sophomore was a third-team all-WCHA selection last season and has now started 35 consecutive games, which is the third-longest streak in school history. Senior defenseman Chay Genoway was last season's WCHA Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the Inside College Hockey Preseason All-American team. North Dakota returns 16 letterwinners from last year's WCHA championship team and has 10 freshmen on this year's roster.
Preseason Picks
Minnesota is picked for fourth in the WCHA preseason polls by both the media and the coaches. The Gophers were also ranked sixth nationally in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine preseason polls. Denver is predicted to take the WCHA title, while Miami (Ohio) is the nation's top-ranked team in the preseason. It is the 10th straight year the Gophers are ranked in the preseason top 10. They began last year ranked ninth.
Veteran Lineup
The Gophers' have just four incoming freshmen on this year's roster, which is their fewest total since the 1984-85 season. That year consisted of three incoming freshmen and one redshirt freshman. In the last 11 years, the Gophers' lowest total was five newcomers in 2003-04. Minnesota had 12 freshmen on the preseason roster last year.
Schroeder Tabbed
Gophers' sophomore forward Jordan Schroeder has been named the WCHA preseason Player of the Year by both the coaches and the media. Schroeder shared the selection by the coaches with St. Cloud State's Ryan Lasch. Schroeder ranked third nationally in assists and points per game in 2008-09 and was the WCHA Rookie of the Year. He earned National Rookie of the Year honors by Inside College Hockey and College Hockey News last season and was the only freshman to rank among the nation's top 40 scorers. Schroeder's 45 points marked the 10th-highest single-season total by a freshman in Minnesota history and his 32 assists ranked sixth in a single season by a freshman.
Into the Fire
The Gophers jump right into the thick of their WCHA season with eight straight league games to open the regular season, including series with each of the three teams picked ahead of them in the WCHA preseason poll. It is the second straight year Minnesota has opened with WCHA competition after sweeping St. Cloud State to open last year en route to a 4-0-2 start in six season-opening conference games.
Exhibition Success
Minnesota opened its season on Oct. 4 with a 6-1 exhibition win over British Columbia, marking the Gophers' 12th straight exhibition win. Six different players scored goals, including newcomer Nick Leddy. The game came just one day after the team's official opening day of practice.
Keeping Score
The Gophers return 10 of their top 11 scorers from the 2008-09 squad and bring back 81.4 percent of their scoring. Minnesota returns all but 60 of its 322 points from last year and 46 of those points came from the team's leading scorer, Ryan Stoa, who left for the National Hockey League after his junior year.
Season Openers
Minnesota has won its season opener the past two years, beating St. Cloud State and Rensselaer. The Gophers are opening the year on the road for the second straight year after not doing so since 2001-02 when they played the opening game at Englestad Arena. Minnesota is 6-4 in season openers under Don Lucia.
Returning Home
Minnesota will have a new face on the bench this year as former Gophers' standout Grant Potulny has replaced Mike Hastings as assistant coach. Potulny was a three-year captain for the Gophers during his career from 2000-04, captaining a pair of national championship teams in 2002 and 2003. Potulny played professional hockey the past five years. He will make his coaching debut in his hometown as Potulny is a Grand Forks, N.D. native and attended Red River High School.
