University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Hockey 2009-10: Season in Review
4/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
There were big wins and some memorable moments, but inconsistent play hampered the University of Minnesota men's hockey during 2009-10 as the Gophers finished 18-19-2 overall and 12-14-2 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
It was just the 16th losing season in the 89-year history of the program and the first since 1997-98. Minnesota also failed to advance through the first round of the WCHA playoffs for just the second time in the past 33 years, losing a hard-fought, three-game series at eventual WCHA Final Five champion North Dakota.
Minnesota defeated eventual national runner-up Wisconsin twice during the season, including a 6-1 thrashing in the regular season finale. The Gophers also posted two wins and two ties against North Dakota and had a thrilling non-conference win at Michigan State. After a tough start, Minnesota looked to be back on track with a 7-1-1 record over a nine-game mid-season stretch, but the Gophers lost five of their next six games. Another three-game winning streak that included a sweep of then nationally-ranked Colorado College appeared to give the Gophers hope of a strong finish, but back-to-back losses to Minnesota Duluth and Wisconsin ended hopes of a first-round home series in the WCHA playoffs. Minnesota played its last 11 games of the season against top 10 teams and finished 5-6 during the span. The Gophers accumulated eight wins over six different ranked teams during the season.
Individually, senior Tony Lucia enjoyed a breakout season and shared the team lead with a career-high 28 points to earn the team's Most Valuable Player award. Sophomore Jordan Schroeder also netted 28 points and left following the season to sign a professional contract with the Vancouver Canucks. Schroeder won a gold medal with the U.S. junior team at the World Junior Championships in January and became the United States' all-time leading scorer. Junior Alex Kangas finished second in the WCHA in save percentage in league games and also moved into third place on the school's all-time saves list.
Minnesota had five seniors on the 2009-10 squad as Mike Carman, David Fischer, Ryan Flynn, Tony Lucia and Brian Schack all concluded their Gopher careers. A sixth senior, Jay Barriball, was injured in practice following the sixth game of the season and earned a medical redshirt. He scored his 100th career point shortly before the injury and has been named the team captain for 2010-11.
