University of Minnesota Athletics
Weekend Preview: North Dakota
1/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Last Time Out: Minnesota finished the 20th annual Dec. 31-Jan. 1 Mariucci Classic with a 0-1-1 record. The Gophers fell to No. 12 Union 3-2 in overtime on Friday, Dec. 31 and tied No. 18 Ferris State 2-2 on Saturday, Jan. 1. On Friday, Minnesota took a 1-0 lead when Jacob Cepis scored his seventh goal of the season at the 17:30 mark of the first period. Union tied the game 1-1 almost halfway through the period with a power-play goal. Mike Hoeffel put Minnesota up 2-1 with a power-play goal of his one, but the Gopher lead lasted only 13 seconds as Josh Jooris scored for Union. Jooris was the overtime hero for Union, as he scored 42 seconds into the five-minute session to give the Dutchmen the win. Minnesota is now 2-1-0 all-time against Union.
On Saturday, the Gophers fell behind to Ferris State 1-0 less than five minutes into the game, as the Bulldogs struck on the power play. Jake Hansen leveled the score at 1-1 with a first-period goal at the 17:51 mark. The Bulldogs scored the only goal in the second period and took a 2-1 lead into the final 20 minutes. The Gophers rallied and salvaged a tie when Jay Barriball struck on the power play with 12:22 left in the game. Minnesota outshot Ferris State 4-1 in overtime, but could not solve netminder Pat Nagle and the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
Minnesota vs. North Dakota: Minnesota is 139-127-14 all-time against North Dakota. The Gophers played North Dakota seven times last year, with Minnesota compiling a 2-3-2 record. The two teams met in the first round of the WCHA Playoffs last year at North Dakota's Ralph Engelstad Arena. UND won the first game 6-0, but Minnesota prevailed 4-2 in the second game. North Dakota won the third and final game 4-1 to end Minnesota's season.
About North Dakota: North Dakota is 16-5-2 overall and 11-3-0 in WCHA play. UND is coming off a sweep of Robert Morris and have won seven straight games. They have not lost since Nov. 20, 2010 (1-0 defeat at Nebraska-Omaha) and are 11-1-1 in their last 13 games. Senior forward Matt Frattin leads the nation's fifth-most proficient offense (3.65 goals per game) with 20 goals in 23 games (four more goals than anyone else) and sophomore goaltender Aaron Dell (15-4-1, .922 sv % and 1.92 GAA) had a 224:31 shutout streak end in a 2-1 win against Robert Morris on Jan. 8. Dell's steak was the second longest in school history. Senior defenseman Chay Genoway leads the team with 17 assists (tied for third in the nation among defenseman).
Exhibition Win: Minnesota played its second and final exhibition game of the season on Friday, Jan. 7, against the U.S. Under-18 Team. The Gophers scored two shorthanded goals and had seven different goals scorers to win 9-0. Mike Hoeffel (two goals), Jacob Cepis (two goals), Tom Serratore, Joe Miller, Jay Barriball (shorthanded), Max Gardiner and Nick Bjugstad (shorthanded) scored for Minnesota. Kent Patterson (15 saves in 32:12) and Jake Kremer (4 saves in 27:48) combined for the shutout. Minnesota won its other exhibition game 6-0 against British Columbia on Oct. 3 prior to the start of the regular season.
A Look Ahead: Minnesota has 14 WCHA games left this season and eight of those games are against teams ranked in the top 10 in the USCHO.com poll. The Gophers play at No. 2 North Dakota this weekend and then travel to No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth for games on Feb. 4-5. Minnesota then hosts No. 6 Denver on Feb. 11-12 before traveling to No. 9 Wisconsin on Feb. 18-19.
Bjugstad, Haula Play Well at WJC: Freshmen Nick Bjugstad and Erik Haula missed the Dec. 31-Jan. 1 Mariucci Classic because they were representing their respective countries at the 2011 World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y. Bjugstad played for the United States, while Haula played for his native Finland. The event began on Dec. 26 and ended when Russia beat Canada 5-3 for the gold medal on Jan. 5. The two Gophers faced one another in their first game on Dec. 26. Haula assisted on Finland's game-tying goal with seven minutes left in the contest. Bjugstad, who was the youngest player on his team, then scored the overtime game-winning goal to give Team USA a 3-2 victory. In six games, Bjugstad had two goals and two assists for the bronze-winning U.S. squad. In addition to scoring the game-winning goal against Finland, Bjugstad also scored the goal that secured the bronze medal for the U.S. against Sweden (1/5). Haula had four goals (including two shorthanded strikes) and three assists in six games for Finland.
Outside the WCHA: Minnesota wrapped up its non-WCHA part of the schedule at the Mariucci Classic. The Gophers played six games this season against non-conference opponents and were 3-2-1 in those games. Minnesota defeated No. 8 Michigan (CCHA) and earned two wins against Massachusetts (Hockey East). The Gophers tied No. 18 Ferris State (CCHA) and lost to No. 12 Union (ECAC) and Michigan State (CCHA). Minnesota collectively outscored its opponents in non-WCHA games 19-18.
Free Hockey: Minnesota went to overtime only once in its first 17 games this season, but has now played three straight overtime games. The Gophers tied Wisconsin 3-3 on Nov. 6 after playing 65 minutes in their tenth game of the season. That was the team's lone foray into the extra five-minute session until recently. The Gophers tied Minnesota-Duluth (2-2) on Dec. 12 and Ferris State (2-2) on Jan. 1 after a five-minute overtime period. Minnesota also lost 3-2 to Union in overtime when the Dutchmen scored 42 seconds into the additional frame.
Rank'em: Minnesota is 5-3-3 against teams ranked ahead of them this year. Using the USCHO.com rankings (rankings at time of game), the Gophers were unranked against No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth and earned a win and a tie. Minnesota was No. 15 when they defeated No. 8 Michigan and were ranked No. 20 when they won both games at No. 19 Colorado College. Minnesota was ranked No. 20 when it split a series with No. 14 St. Cloud State and the Gophers were No. 17 when they lost to and tied No. 15 Wisconsin. The Gophers were No. 19 when they tied No. 18 Ferris State and lost 3-2 in overtime to No. 12 Union.
First Period Goals: Minnesota usually finds success when it scores a first-period goal. The Gophers are 9-2-3 when scoring a first period goal this season and 8-1-2 when scoring the first goal of the game.
Good To Have Goals: Minnesota has narrowly outscored its opponents 63-61 this year. The Gophers have outscored their opposition 23-22 in the first period, but have been outscored 26-22 in the second period. However, the Gophers have had more success in the final 20 minutes, scoring 18 goals to their opponent's 12.
Three or More: Three seems to be the magic number for the Gopher offense this year. Minnesota is 8-1-1 when scoring three or more goals in a game this year and is 1-7-2 when failing to light the lamp three times.
Happy 50th: Senior forward Jay Barriball scored the 50th goal of his career on Saturday against Ferris State. The Gopher captain is two assists shy of 75 for his career and two points shy of 125 for his career.
No Negatives Here: Freshman defenseman Mark Alt did not play in the Gophers first game of the season, but he has played in every game since. Alt has been a minus player in only four of 19 games this year and has gone nine straight games without a minus rating. Alt is +4 during the span and the Gophers are 3-4-2 in their last nine games.
Schmidt on the Board: Freshman Nate Schmidt, who usually plays defense for the Gophers, recorded his first collegiate point (an assist) against Ferris State (1/1). Schmidt was playing third line left wing at the time of his assist and was seeing action for the seventh game this season.
Helpers for Helgeson: Sophomore defenseman Seth Helgeson played the first 41 games of his Gopher career without an assist. The stay-at-home defenseman finally got the first helper of his career Nov. 19 at Michigan Tech and has been dishing out assists every since. Helgeson has four assists this year with three of them coming in the last four games. He had an assist in both games against Minnesota-Duluth (Dec. 10-12) and one against Ferris State (Jan. 1).
Welcome Rally: Minnesota was 0-7-0 at one point this season when trailing after two periods. However, they are now 0-7-2, after putting together two recent third-period rallies to earn a tie. On Dec. 12, against No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth, the Gophers trailed 2-1 with 20 minutes to play, but earned a 2-2 tie after Jacob Cepis ended a six-game goal draught and score the game's only third-period goal. On Jan. 1, Minnesota was trailing No. 18 Ferris State 2-1 heading into the third period. This time Jay Barriball scored his team-leading 11th goals of the year to help the Gophers earn a 2-2 tie. The last time Minnesota won a game trailing after two periods was Jan. 2, 2010. The Gophers were losing 1-0 to Bowling Green, but scored all three goals of the third period to win 3-1.
Going Deep: Every Gopher (except goaltender Jake Kremer) has played in at least four games this year and only six (Jay Barriball, Jacob Cepis, Jake Hansen, Taylor Matson, Aaron Ness and Seth Helgeson) of 24 skaters have played in all 20 games. Twenty-two players (including goalie Kent Patterson) have at least one point this year and 18 players have scored at least one goal. The only six skaters who do not have a goal this year are defenseman Aaron Ness (eight assists in 20 games), defenseman Mark Alt (two assists in 19 games), forward Jared Larson (zero points in seven games), defenseman Jake Parenteau (zero points in four games) and forward Joe Miller (zero points in three games).
Tightening Up: Minnesota has allowed an average of 3.05 goals per game through 20 contests this year. However, in the past seven games the Gophers have allowed a combined 15 goals for an average of 2.14 per game. In those seven games Minnesota has allowed one goal (one time), two goals (four times) and three goals (two times). Minnesota's opponents scored 33 goals in the first nine games of the season for a 3.66 average, but have scored only 28 goals (includes five goals allowed to Michigan State on Nov. 26) in the last 11 games for a 2.54 average.
O From the D: The Gopher defense has been doing a better job keeping pucks out of their own net, but they have also been helping the offense out. The six defensemen who have appeared in the most games this season have combined for 37 points (6g-31a) and each of them has at least two points. Cade Fairchild leads the group with 11 points (3g-8a). He his followed by Kevin Wehrs (1g-7a), Aaron Ness (8a), Seth Helgeson (1g-4a), Justin Holl (1g-2a) and Mark Alt (2a).
Fresh Idea: There are 10 freshmen on the Minnesota roster this year and all 10 have played in at least four games. Eight of them have at least one point and have combined for 40 points (13g-27a) this year. Erik Haula leads the group with 15 points (3g-12a) and is followed by Nate Condon (5g-5a), Nick Bjugstad (2g-2a), Justin Holl (1g-2a), Tom Serratore (1g-2a), Max Gardiner (1g-1a), Mark Alt (2a) and Nate Schmidt (1a).
Minnesota Nice: The Gophers have 14 regular-season games left on their schedule and they will play 12 of them (six at home) in the state of Minnesota. The Gophers will leave Minnesota this week to face North Dakota (Jan. 14-15), but then will play its next six games in Minnesota before heading to Wisconsin for a pair of games on Feb. 18-19.
Captain Jay: Senior captain Jay Barriball leads the team with 11 goals and is the only Gopher averaging more than one point-per-game (21 points in 20 games). Barriball has at least one point in 14 games this year and Minnesota is 7-5-2 when the captain is on the scoresheet. He also recorded a hat trick on Oct. 9 in a 5-4 win against Massachusetts. It was the first hat trick for a Gopher since Blake Wheeler had one in a 4-2 win against Wisconsin on March 16, 2007.
Kangas in the Record Books: Alex Kangas entered his senior season fourth all-time in program history with 2,571 saves. The 23-year-old has played in eight games this year and has stopped 231 shots. He now has 2,802 career saves, which ranks third all-time in school history behind Adam Hauser (3,777 saves) and Kellen Briggs (2,968 saves). Kangas (108 games) is also third in program history for games played by a goalie. Briggs is second with 132 career games played and Houser owns the record with 151 games.
Budish Update: Sophomore Zach Budish was injured in a moped accident on Nov. 1 and will miss the rest of the season. He underwent successful surgery on his right knee on Nov. 22.
Preseason Picks and Rankings: Minnesota began the year ranked No. 15 in both the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine and the USCHO polls. That ended a 10-year streak of being ranked in the top 10 to begin the season.
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. Freshmen Nick Bjugstad, Mark Alt, Justin Holl and Max Gardiner were selected in the 2010 NHL Draft, with each of them going in the first three rounds (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. Jay Barriball, Nick Larson, Taylor Matson, Joe Miller, Patrick White, Justin Holl, Max Gardiner and Mark Alt were finalists.
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 there were six non-Minnesotans.
Minnesota vs. Michigan: Minnesota is 3-1-0 against schools from Michigan this year. The Gophers beat Michigan on Nov. 28 and are also 2-0-0 against Michigan Tech. The Gophers have three more games against a school from Michigan. Minnesota hosts Ferris State on Jan. 1 and then hosts Michigan Tech on Feb. 25-26. The Gophers lone loss to a school from Michigan was a Nov. 26 setback to Michigan State.
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.
