University of Minnesota Athletics
Border Battle Renews as Gophers Head to Madison
11/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Video: Don Lucia and Jordan Schroeder Preview Wisconsin
Minnesota (2-3-1, 2-3-1) at Wisconsin (3-2-1, 1-2-1)
Date: Friday-Saturday, Nov. 6-7
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Kohl Center (15,237)
Series History: Minnesota leads 150-81-18
Radio: WCCO 830 AM (Fri.)/KYCR 1570 AM (Sat.) - Wally Shaver and Glen Sonmor
Television: Fox Sports North - Frank Mazzocco and Doug Woog
Looking to ride the momentum from its first victories of the season, Minnesota wraps up a stretch of eight straight conference games to open the season with a two-game series at Wisconsin. The Gophers swept Alaska Anchorage last weekend and had a successful trip to Madison last year, taking three points in the series.
Last Time Out
The Gophers took two games from Alaska Anchorage with 5-1 and 4-1 victories at Mariucci Arena. Tony Lucia had a big weekend with three goals and two assists, including two shorthanded goals on Friday. Jordan Schroeder contributed two assists in each game. Alex Kangas played both games in goal and stopped 53 of 55 shots for the weekend while allowing one goal in each game.
Series History
Minnesota leads the all-time series with the Badgers 150-81-18. Both teams succeeded on the other's home ice last year with Gophers posting a 2-2 tie and 5-2 win in Madison and Wisconsin taking 3-2 and 5-4 wins at Mariucci Arena. Close games have typified the series over the past three seasons as 12 of the 13 meetings have been decided by two goals or less. There have been four ties, five one-goal games and three two-goal margins.
About the Badgers
Wisconsin dominated a home series with New Hampshire last weekend, winning 4-1 and 6-1. The Badgers held a 51-13 superiority in shots the opening night and a 44-22 advantage the second game. Derek Stepan had two goals in the first game and Jordy Murray tallied twice in the second victory. Wisconsin opened the year with a loss and tie at home against Colorado College before splitting a series at Minnesota State the following weekend. The Badgers rank third nationally in defense, having allowed just nine goals in six games behind solid goaltending from juniors Scott Gudmanson and Brett Bennett. Gudmanson has a 1.63 goals against average and .938 save percentage, while Bennett ranks fourth nationally with a 1.34 goals against average and has a .931 save percentage. Bennett led Indiana to the USHL title last season after playing the previous two years at Boston University. Brendan Smith is the nation's top-scoring defenseman with two goals and seven assists. The Badgers also rank second nationally in penalty killing behind North Dakota, stopping 30 of 32 opponent power plays.
Tough Tasks
This weekend marks the final series of Minnesota's eight-game season-opening stretch against WCHA foes. Included in the start are series against the three teams picked to finish ahead of them in the league's preseason coaches' poll. Denver was the preseason favorite with North Dakota second and Wisconsin third. Minnesota was predicted fourth.
Facing the Best
The Gophers opened the year with four straight games against teams in the top five of the national rankings. This week, the Gophers' first two opponents, Denver and North Dakota, are ranked second and third nationally. The last time the Gophers faced top five ranked opponents in back-to-back weeks was Dec. 2-3 and 9-10, 2005 when they faced Wisconsin and North Dakota.
Home Sweep Home
Last weekend's sweep of Alaska Anchorage marked Minnesota's first home regular season sweep since taking two wins from Wayne State Jan. 4-5, 2008. Minnesota also swept St. Cloud State in last year's WCHA playoffs and beat two different teams in the Dodge Holiday Classic. The Gophers had played 10 home regular season series since the last sweep.
Playing Short
Senior Tony Lucia had three goals and two assists last weekend against Alaska Anchorage, including a pair of shorthanded goals in Friday's win. Lucia became the first Gopher to record two shorthanded goals in a game since Mike Carman had a pair of shorthanders against Michigan on Nov. 25, 2006. Lucia also had his only previous shorthanded goal in that game and it marked the last time the Gophers had scored two shorthanded goals in a single game. The two-goal game was the first multiple-point game of Lucia's career.
Award Winners
All three WCHA weekly award winners will be on the ice this weekend as Lucia earned the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week award for the first time in his career and two Wisconsin defensemen received the other awards. Brendan Smith was the league's Defensive Player of the Week and John Ramage was the Rookie of the Week.
Shorthanded Success
Oddly, Minnesota has scored more shorthanded goals than power play goals this season. The Gophers lead the country with three shorthanded goals on 33 opponent power plays. However, they are just 1-for-29 on the power play. The lone power play goal came from Patrick White in Sunday's game and snapped an 0-for-25 start. Last year, Minnesota ranked eighth in the country on the power play at 20.1 percent.
In the Crease
Junior goaltender Alex Kangas stopped 53 of 55 shots last weekend and currently ranks 10th nationally with a .939 save percentage. Kangas also ranks 21st nationally with a 2.01 goals against average. Kangas allowed one goal in each game and has now posted a one-goal game 15 times along with three career shutouts.
Even Up
The Gophers have surrendered a total of just six five-on-five goals through six games. Their opponents have scored 15 goals with seven coming on the power play, one shorthanded and one empty net.
First-Timers
Junior defenseman Kevin Wehrs and freshman forward Zach Budish each recorded their first career goals in Friday's victory over Alaska Anchorage. Wehrs was playing in his 79th collegiate game. He also picked up an assist in Sunday's victory.
In the Box
This weekend's series could see plenty of physical play as both teams are among the nation's most penalized. Wisconsin ranks third in the country at 21.2 minutes per game and Minnesota is eighth at 20.2 minutes per game. In fact, seven of the top 11 teams in penalty minutes are from the WCHA. The Gophers had 19 penalties for 38 minutes in the first game against Alaska Anchorage, but just four penalties for eight minutes in the second game. The last time Minnesota had 19 penalties in a game was its last visit to Wisconsin on Oct. 25, 2008.
Milestone Marker
Senior Jay Barriball had three points last weekend and became the 78th player in Minnesota history to record 100 points for his career. Barriball now has 39 goals and 63 assists in 125 career games. He became the first Gopher player to reach the 100-point mark since four players accomplished the milestone in 2005-06. Danny Irmen was the most recent, netting his 100th point against Minnesota Duluth on March 3, 2006. Chris Harrington, Ryan Potulny and Gino Guyer also scored their 100th points that season.
Leddy Out
Freshman defenseman Nick Leddy suffered a broken jaw in Friday night's game and is expected to be out of the lineup for six weeks. Leddy took a hard hit after a shot attempt late in the first period. He underwent surgery on Monday.
