University of Minnesota Athletics
Weekend Preview: Colorado College
10/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Last Time Out: Minnesota welcomed St. Cloud State to Mariucci Arena for a Friday-Sunday WCHA series. The two teams played on Sunday because president Barack Obama was on the University of Minnesota campus on Saturday. On Friday, the Gophers fell behind 5-0 to St. Cloud State in the second period and could not come back. The Gophers controlled the third period and scored twice, but eventually lost 5-2. Mike Hoeffel and Taylor Matson scored for Minnesota, while Kevin Wehrs, Nico Sacchetti and Mark Alt added assists. Alex Kangas started in goal, but was replaced by Kent Patterson at the 33:33 mark. Patterson stopped all 12 shots he faced.
On Sunday, the Gophers snapped a three-game skid and earned their first WCHA win on the season with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against St. Cloud State. The win also ended a three-game losing streak to the Huskies. For the fourth straight game, the Gophers allowed their opponents to score first, but unlike the previous three games Minnesota scored the important second goal when Jacob Cepis scored on the very next shift. Captain Jay Barriball added a power-play goal at the end of the first period and that was enough for goalie Kent Patterson who started his second game of the year. The junior turned away 25 shots, including 13 in the final period to improve his season record to 2-0-0.
Series History: Minnesota leads the all-time series with Colorado College 158-84-7. The Gophers won both meetings last year at Mariucci Arena and the teams have each won five of the last 10 meetings. Minnesota won 3-0 (Feb. 19, 2010) and 7-4 (Feb. 20, 2010) a year ago, but most of the scoring power from those two games is no longer on the Gopher roster. Of the 10 goals scored, only Patrick White, Mike Hoeffel, Aaron Ness and Cade Fairchild (all one goal each in the series) are back wearing the maroon and gold this year. Alex Kangas was between the pipes for the Minnesota in both games and his 3-0 win in the first game of the series was his most recent shutout and the fourth of his career.
About The Tigers: Like Minnesota, Colorado College is playing this year without its top point producers from last year. The Tigers are without three of their top-four scorers from 2009-10 and their leading returning scorer is sophomore Rylan Schwartz (6g-22a). Senior Tyler Johnson is the only returnee who reached double digits in goals last year (14). Tiger alum Scott Owens coaches Colorado College and has a career record of 242-135-36 in 11 seasons. This year, the Tigers are ranked No. 19 and are 3-2-1 (every game decided by one goal) on the season. They are 1-1-0 in the WCHA after earning a road split with Minnesota State last weekend. Goaltender Joe Howe, who is from Plymouth, Minn., led the Tigers to a 1-0 win on Saturday. Brothers Jaden (4g-2a) and Rylan (2g-4a) Schwartz lead CC with six points.
Road Trip: This week's matchup at Colorado College are Minnesota's first road games of the season. Minnesota played its first six games at Mariucci Arena for the first time in 46 years. This weekend is one of only seven road trips that Minnesota will make this year and is one of only four times that the Gophers will leave the state in the regular season.
Familiar Ice: Minnesota coach Don Lucia led the Colorado College program from 1993-99 and registered a 166-68-18 record (.694) during his time behind the Tiger bench. He guided CC to a 23-11-5 record and the WCHA regular-season title in his first season. The Tigers were 8-28 before Lucia arrived and had not had a winning season in their previous 13 campaigns. Lucia guided the Tigers to three straight outright regular-season league titles in his first three years in Colorado Springs and led Colorado College to the 1996 national championship game and the 1997 NCAA Frozen Four.
Colorado Connections: Colorado College has five Minnesotans on its roster, while Minnesota has one player from Colorado. Freshman Tom Serratore is from Colorado Springs and his father, Frank, is the head coach at Air Force in Colorado Springs. Tiger defenseman Gabe Guentzel is the son of Mike Guentzel. Mike is a former Gopher player and assistant coach and is currently an assistant coach at Nebraska-Omaha.
Going Deep: Every Gopher has dressed at least once in the team's first six games and only 11 of 24 skaters have played in all six games. Seventeen skaters and everyone who have played more than three games has at least one point this year.
A New Streak?: Senior Jay Barriball and freshman Erik Haula began the year with a point in the first four games of the season. Both players saw their streaks come to an end against St. Cloud State on Oct. 22. However, the linemates were back on the scoresheet on Sunday when Haula assisted on Barriball's power-play goal in the first period. Barriball and Haula are the only two Gophers who have a point in five of the team's six games this year.
Good Point: Jay Barriball, Erik Haula, Mike Hoeffel and Jacob Cepis all average at least a point per game. Barriball averages 1.33 points per game. Next is Haula (1.16), Hoeffel (1.00) and Cepis (1.00).
Among The Best: Jay Barriball scored his fourth power-play goal of the season and sixth goal overall on Sunday against St. Cloud State. The 23-year-old ranks third nationally in goals scored (Miami's Carter Camper and North Dakota's Matt Frattin both have seven) and is tied for first in the counrty in power-play goals (Frattin and Union's Wayne Simpson also have four).
More Barriball: 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 then took seven shots in three straight games before firing only three shots in each game against St. Cloud State. Barriball's 20.7 shooting percentage leads the team for anybody who has taken more than three shots.
Welcome Company: Before Sunday's game Jay Barriball was the only Gopher to score a first-period goal this year. He scored a combined four goals in the first period against Massachusetts (Oct. 8-9) and then Minnesota went three games without a first-period tally. On Sunday, Jacob Cepis joined Barriball in the first-period goal-scoring club when he went five-hole on SCSU goaltender Dan Dunn at the 6:45 mark of the first period. Barriball scored with less than two minutes remaining in the period and is responsible for five of Minnesota's six first-period goals this year.
Block Party: Three Gophers, all defensemen, have recorded 10 or more blocked shots on the year. Senior Cade Fairchild leads the group with 16 and is followed by Aaron Ness (14) and Mart Alt (12 in five games played). Up front, Mike Hoeffel, Nico Sacchetti and Jake Hansen all have six blocked shots.
Kangas Moving Up: Alex Kangas entered his senior season fourth all-time in program history with 2,571 saves. The 23-year-old has played in four games this year and has stopped 121 pucks. In doing so he moved into third place all-time in saves with 2,692. 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 (104 games) is also third in program history for games played by a goalie. He needs to play in 28 more games this year (28 regular-season games remaining) to join Kellen Briggs (132 career games) in second place. Adam Houser owns the record with 151 games played.
All Good: Senior Mike Hoeffel leads Minnesota with a +6 rating. Hoeffel, who ended last year with a -3 rating, was a plus player in the first five games of the season and has not had a minus game yet.
Matson Matters: Junior Taylor Matson scored his fourth career goal on Friday night against St. Cloud State and added an assist on Sunday. Matson does not score a lot of goals, but he makes up for that with a tireless and disciplined work effort. His eight points (4g-4a) in 38 career games now tie the number of minutes he has sat in the penalty box in his career (four minor penalties for eight minutes).
Follow The Pattern: Junior goaltender Kent Patterson stopped 37 of 38 pucks this past weekend against St. Cloud State. He entered Friday's game at the 33:33 mark with the Gophers trailing 5-0 and turned aside all 12 pucks that came his way in the remaining 26:27. He played the full 60 minutes on Sunday and made 25 saves in a 2-1 Minnesota win. Thirteen of his 25 saves came in the final period and he was one of the main reasons the Gopher penalty kill was able to escape all six Husky power-play opportunities. He is ranked second in the WCHA with a 0.69 goals-against average in conference games (86:27 minutes played) and his .947 save percentage also ranks him second.
O From The D: The Gophers have 50 points (20g-30a) this season and 11 of those points (3g-8a) have come from defensemen. Six blueliners have at least one point and senior defensemen Kevin Wehrs leads the group with four points (1g-3a). Wehrs saw his three-game point streak (1g-3a) end on Sunday against St. Cloud State. He is tied for fifth on the team with Zach Budish in points and is tied for second in WCHA points among defensemen. All four of his points have come in WCHA games.
Finish Strong: Minnesota has scored 20 goals this year and nine of them (45 percent) have come in the final period. The Gophers have six first-period goals and five-second period goals. last year Minnesota ended the season with 30 first-period goals, 34 second-period goals and 42 third-period goals.
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 back this season. Mike Carman (graduated, 18 points) is the third top-10 scorer not back this year. To date, the eight returning players have combined for eight goals and 14 assists.
Shoot, Don't Shoot: The Gophers have taken a season-high 42 shots in two games this year and have lost both games. Minnesota took 42 shots against St. Cloud State (Oct. 22; 5-2 defeat) and against Nebraska-Omaha (Oct. 15; 5-4 loss). The Gophers took a season-low 24 shots versus St. Cloud State on Oct. 24, but won 2-1. Minnesota is 3-1-0 when taking 39 or fewer shots and are 0-2-0 when taking more than 40 shots.
Fresh Idea: There are 10 freshmen on the Minnesota roster this year and all 10 have plyed in at least one game. Five of them have at least one point and Erik Haula leads the group with seven (1g-6a). He is followed by Mark Alt (2a). Nate Condon (1g), Justin Holl (1g) and Nick Bjugstad (1a).
Bjugstad Out: Freshman Nick Bjugstad played against St. Cloud State on Friday, Oct. 22, but was then diagnosed with mononucleosis the next day. Bjugstad is expected to miss the next few weeks.
Goals, Goals, Goals: Minnesota has scored 20 goals in six games this year, with 12 players finding the back of the net. The Gophers are averaging 3.3 goals per game after ending last year with a 2.7 average. Jay Barriball (six goals) leads the team and is followed by Mike Hoeffel (three goals) and Jacob Cepis (two goals). Erik Haula, Zach Budish, Kevin Wehrs, Nate Condon, Jake Hansen, Seth Helgeson, Justin Holl, Nico Sacchetti and Taylor Matson have all scored once this year. This is in stark contrast to last year when the Gophers had only 12 goals (Hoeffel 3, Lucia 3, Barriball 2, Wehrs 1, Budish 1, Ness 1 and White 1) after the first six games of the season.
Powering Up: Minnesota's power play has clicked at a successful 26.9 percentage rate (7 of 26) this season and the Gophers have power-play goals in four of their six games this year.
Transfer Agreement: 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 two goals and four assists in six games this year and now has 25 points in 27 career games. His .925 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. 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.
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.
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.
Noticeable Draft: 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 play 26 of their 34 regular-season games in Minnesota. They do not have consecutive road trips this year and do 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.
Gracious Hosts: Minnesota hosts 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 also hosts the 2012 West Regional at Xcel Energy Center.
