University of Minnesota Athletics
Weekend Preview: St. Cloud State
10/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Last Time Out: Minnesota dropped both games to WCHA newcomer Nebraska-Omaha at Mariucci Arena. After dominating the first periods against Massachusetts a week prior, the Gophers found themselves in early holes against the Mavericks. Minnesota trailed UNO 4-0 midway through the game on Friday before rallying back and tying the game at four on an unassisted goal by senior captain Jay Barriball at the 16:46 mark of the third period. The Gophers valiant comeback went unrewarded as UNO scored on a three-on-two rush with 96 seconds left in the game. On Saturday, Minnesota trailed 3-0 before mounting another rally. The Gophers pulled to within one on goals by Kevin Wehrs and Erik Haula, but UNO prevailed 4-2 after adding an empty-net goal at the 19:49 mark of the third period. Despite the loss, goaltender Alex Kangas was stellar in net. He recorded 44 saves, which is only one shy of his career high of 45 set Nov. 7, 2009, at Wisconsin.
Series History: Minnesota leads the all-time series with St. Cloud State 47-25-12. The Gophers won seven straight meetings with the Huskies before losing both games of a home-and-home series last year. Last year, Minnesota allowed three first period goals to SCSU on Jan. 22, 2010, before losing 4-3. The loss ended Minnesota's four-game road winning streak. The following night the teams met in Mariucci Arena and SCSU took a 3-0 lead into the third period. Cade Fairchild got the Gophers on the board early in the third period, but an empty-net goal secured the 4-1 win for the Huskies.
About The Huskies: The St. Cloud Huskies are led by coach Bob Motzko who has a career record of 106-76-25. Motzko has his Huskies (1-2-1) ranked in the top 15 in both major polls. The Huskies tied and lost to fourth-ranked Miami last weekend at home. Prior to that they beat RIT 3-1 and lost to Clarkson 6-2 at the University of Nebraska-Omaha's annual tournament. SCSU has scored only nine goals this year, but those goals have been scored by seven different players. Only sophomore Ben Hanowski, who owns the state record for points scored in high school (his 405 points broke former Gopher John Pohl's record of 378 in 2009) has two goals. Drew LeBlanc has four assists for SCSU, while Mike Lee (GAA: 3.66; .866 save percentage) and Dan Dunn (GAA: 3.10; .906 save percentage) tend the pipes.
Senior Garrett Roe had one assist against Miami and now has 145 career points. He is fifth in program history in points and needs 38 more points to tie the team's all-time career point record of 183 set by Ryan Lasch (2006-10). The assist against Miami was Roe's 90th as a Husky. He is the fifth SCSU player to register 90 assists in a career and ranks 4th on the all-time assist list with Joe Motzko (1999-2003).
Feel Good (Story) Coach: Coach Don Lucia was diagnosed with sarcoidosis in January 2009 and was forced to miss four games during the 2008-09 season. After receiving treatment and medication, Lucia enters the 2010-11 season fully healthy after receiving a clean bill of health from his doctors in July 2010.
Preseason Picks And Rankings: Minnesota is picked to finish fifth in the WCHA by the coaches and sixth by the media. The Gophers began the year ranked No. 15 in both the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine and the USCHO/CBS Sports Rankings polls. The No. 15 ranking ended a 10-year streak of the Gophers being ranked in the top 10 to begin the season. Entering weekend play against St. Cloud State, the Gophers are ranked No. 20 in the USCHO/CBS College Sports Rankings and are not ranked in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll.
Streaking: Senior Jay Barriball and freshman Erik Haula are the only Gophers who have recorded a point in all four games this year. Barriball scored a collective five goals (tied for first in the WCHA), including a hat trick on Oct. 9, in the team's first three games and then added an assist against UNO on Oct. 16. His seven points (5g-2a) lead the team. Haula began his college career with two assists in each of his first two games. He had one assist in his third game and then scored his first goal in the maroon and gold on Oct. 16 versus UNO. His six points (1g-5a) tie him for second in the WCHA among freshmen and rank second on the team behind Barriball.
Kangas Moving Up: Senior Alex Kangas entered his senior season fourth all-time in program history with 2,571 saves. The 23-year-old has played three games this year and has stopped 103 pucks. In doing so he moved into third place all-time in saves with 2,674. He recently passed Steve Janaszak (2,639 saves) and should end the year second in program history in saves. Kellen Briggs (2,968 saves) and Adam Hauser (3,777 saves) are the only players ahead of Kangas. Kangas (103 games) is also third in program history for games played by a goalie. Kangas has a chance to pass Kellen Briggs (132 career games) and move into second place on the list if given a heavy workload. Even if Kangas played every game this year he cannot break Adam Houser's record of 151 games played.
Kangas Saves: Alex Kangas turned away 44 shots last Saturday against Nebraska-Omaha. That mark is only one shy of his career high of 45 set Nov. 7, 2009, at Wisconsin. Kangas' ranks second in the WCHA this year with 103 saves. UNO's John Faulkner has made 116 saves. However, Faulkner has played in four games, while Kangas has seen action in only three.
7-7-7: Jay Barriball leads the team in goals for a reason. He shoots more than anybody else. Barriball scored one goal on two shots in his first game of the year, but has launched seven shots in each of the last three games. Barriball's 21.7 shooting percentage also tops the team.
All Good: Senior Mike Hoeffel leads Minnesota with a +5 rating. Hoeffel, who ended last year with a -3 rating, is the only player on the Gophers' roster who has been a positive player in all four games this year.
O From The D: Senior Kevin Wehrs was a factor in both Minnesota goals last Saturday against Nebraska-Omaha. He scored his third-career goal, the Gophers' first of the game, at the 6:30 mark of the third period and then had the primary assist on Erik Haula's goal at 16:43. It was Wehrs fourth multiple-point game of his career and his first since Nov. 21, 2009, against Minnesota Duluth when he had a goal and an assist. Wehrs also had an assist on Friday against UNO.
Hang Ten: Minnesota saw 10 players record a point last Friday against Nebraska-Omaha. No player had more than one point. It was the first time Minnesota had 10 players register a point since March 7, 2010 when the Gophers beat Wisconsin 6-1.
70 Percent Full: Minnesota began the year without its two highest scorers from last season. Tony Lucia (graduated) and Jordan Schroeder (turned professional) led the Gophers with 28 points a year ago. However, the team did return seven of its top 10 point producers. Mike Hoeffel (24 points), Cade Fairchild (21), Jacob Cepis (19), Patrick White (17), Zach Budish (17), Nico Sacchetti (15), Jake Hansen (12) and Aaron Ness (12) are all wearing maroon and gold this season. Mike Carman (graduated, 18 points) is the third top-10 scorer not back this year. To date, the eight players have combined for six goals and 11 assists.
Shooting Gallery: The Gophers took 42 shots last Friday against Nebraska-Omaha. The last time Minnesota took 42 shots was in a 7-4 home win on Feb. 20, 2010 against Colorado College. The Gophers unleashed 21 shots in the second period on Friday. It was the first time the maroon and gold took 20 or more shots in a period since March 6, 2009, at Michigan Tech (20 shots, first period).
Boxed Out: Minnesota did a good job of staying out of the penalty box against Nebraska-Omaha after racking up 16 penalties and 43 minutes in two wins versus Massachusetts. The Gophers were in the box for only 12 minutes (six minor penalties) in both games against Nebraska-Omaha.
Facing Off: Junior Taylor Matson was the Gophers most successful player in the faceoff circle against Nebraska-Omaha. He won 16, while losing only eight for a 66.7 percent success rate. Freshman Erik Haula was the second most proficient Gopher in the dot winning 54.5 percent (30 of 55) of his weekend draws.
Getting Stronger: In a season-opening sweep of Massachusetts the Gophers owned the first period, outscoring the Minutemen a collective 4-0. Last weekend against Nebraska-Omaha, the Gophers did most of their damage in the third period. Minnesota scored four of their six total goals in the final frame against the Mavericks. For the year, the Gophers have scored four first-period goals, five in the second and seven in the third.
Fresh Idea: There are 10 freshmen on the Minnesota roster this year and five of the nine who have seen playing time in the first four games of the season have recorded at least one point. Erik Haula leads the group with six points (1g-5a), while Nate Condon (1g), Justin Holl (1g), Nick Bjugstad (1a) and Mark Alt (1a) all have one point.
This One Goes To 11: Minnesota has scored 16 goals four games this year, with 11 players finding the back of the net. Jay Barriball (five goals) leads the team and is followed by Mike Hoeffel with two goals. Erik Haula, Jacob Cepis, Zach Budish, Kevin Wehrs, Nate Condon, Jake Hansen, Seth Helgeson, Justin Holl and Nico Sacchetti have all scored once this year. This is in stark contrast to last year when the Gophers had only three goals (Hoeffel 2, Barriball 1) after the first four games of the season.
Start At The Beginning: The Gophers were 10-8-1 at Mariucci last season, but improved significantly after the calendar flipped from 2009 to 2010. Minnesota won its first two home games this year to extend its home winning streak to five games dating back to last season. That streak ended last Friday when the Gophers fell 5-4 to Nebraska-Omaha at Mariucci Arena.
Powering Up: Minnesota's power play has clicked at a successful 33.3 percentage rate (6 of 18) this season and the Gophers have power-play goals in three of their four games this year.
Let'em Play: Senior Jacob Cepis, a transfer from Bowling Green, is playing in his first full season with Minnesota this year. He missed the first half of the season a year ago because of NCAA transfer regulations. He joined the lineup at mid-season a year ago and has averaged nearly a point a game since. He had 19 points (7g-12a) in 21 games a year ago en route to receiving the team's Unsung Hero award and has picked up this year where he left off last year. Cepis has one goal and three assists in four games this year and now has 23 points in 25 career games. His .920 points per game average leads the team for any player who has competed in more than 10 games during his career.
Fresh Import: Freshman Erik Haula, who hails from Pori, Finland, became the first European-born player to pull on the M sweater for the Gophers since Thomas Vanek (Graz, Austria) in 2003-2004. Haula and Vanek are the only Europeans to play for Minnesota under coach Don Lucia. Haula, who was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the seventh round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, centers the top line for the Gophers and plays on the top power-play unit.
Something Change?: The Gophers roster has been drastically remodeled from last year to this year. Only 11 of the 18 skaters in the lineup for the final game of 2009-10 are able to play this year. In addition to the ten incoming freshmen, redshirt senior Jay Barriball and junior Taylor Matson will return to the ice after suffering season ending injuries last year. Only 10 of the 24 skaters on the roster played in more than 30 games for Minnesota last season.
Growing Up: The Gophers began their 90th season of play on Oct. 8 with 20 players on the roster who are 20 or older. The Gophers may have ten freshmen, but that does not mean they are not an experienced team-over half of the players on the roster are 21 or older and the team's average age is 20.6. The oldest player on the team is 23-year-old Jay Barriball, who is one day older than netminder Alex Kangas. The youngest player on the team is freshman Nick Bjugstad, who was only 17 when he graduated from high school in the spring and turned 18 in July.
Getting A Little Drafty: Nineteen Gophers have been drafted by NHL teams. The junior and freshman class each have six draftees, the senior class has five and both of the team's sophomores have been drafted. Incoming freshmen Nick Bjugstad, Mark Alt, Justin Holl and Max Gardiner were selected in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, with each of them going in the first three rounds (and top 74 overall). Other than Bjugstad, senior Patrick White (No. 22 in 2007) is the only other first-round pick.
Excuse Me Mr.: The highest distinction a high school hockey player in Minnesota can receive is being named Mr. Hockey. This year's team has two players - junior Aaron Ness and freshman Nick Bjugstad - who received that honor. Additionally eight players (Jay Barriball, Nick Larson, Taylor Matson, Joe Miller, Patrick White, Justin Holl, Max Gardiner and Mark Alt) were named finalists for the award.
You're Not From Around Here: With the additions of freshmen Nate Condon (Wausau, Wis.), Tom Serratore (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Erik Haula (Pori, Finland), the Gophers now have four players (joining Jacob Cepis who is from Parma, Ohio) from outside of Minnesota. The last time Minnesota's roster featured at least four players from outside the state was during the 2005-06 season when six non-Minnesotans played for the Gophers.
Minnesota Nice: The Gophers will play 26 of their 34 regular-season games in the State of Hockey this season. Minnesota does not have consecutive road trips this year and does not travel to Alaska. The Gophers leave the state only four times all season to play WCHA road contests at Colorado College, Michigan Tech, North Dakota and Wisconsin.
Come One, Come All: Teams from four of the five major ice hockey conferences will visit Mariucci Arena this season. In addition to 14 WCHA home games, Minnesota will host Union of the ECAC and the CCHA's Michigan State, Michigan and Ferris State. Hockey East's Massachusetts already visited Mariucci this year.
Turn On The TV: Thirty-one of Minnesota's 34 games will be broadcast on television this year. The Big Ten Network will air three games, while FOX Sports North will show 28 games. All 31 games will be broadcast in high definition.
Add Them Up: Mariucci Arena, the home building of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, seats 10,000 fans. Through four games Minnesota has seen 38,043 fans fill Mariucci Arena for an average of 9,511 per game.
Gracious Hosts: The University of Minnesota will host the 2011 NCAA Men's Frozen Four from April 7-9 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. The last time the Frozen Four was held in Minnesota was 2002, when current Gopher assistant coach Grant Potulny scored the overtime game-winning goal against Maine to give Minnesota its first national championship since 1979. Minnesota will also host the 2012 West Regional at Xcel Energy Center.
Only BSU Left: Now that Minnesota has played UNO, the only new team in the conference that they have to face is Bemidji State. Minnesota is 7-1-0 all-time against BSU. The Gophers travel to the brand new Regional Events Center for the teams' final WCHA series of the season in March.
