University of Minnesota Athletics
Blog Recap: Minnesota at Wisconsin
2/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Blog Recap: Minnesota at Wisconsin
About Last Night
Taylor Matson scored two goals and Kent Patterson made 36 saves to lift Minnesota to a 5-2 win at No. 12 Wisconsin. The Gophers, who also scored three power-play goals, are now 13-12-4 this season and 10-10-3 in the WCHA. The win moved them into a tie for sixth place with 23 points in the WCHA with Colorado College who tied Bemidji State 5-5 on Friday. Wisconsin is in fifth place with 24 points. Mike Hoeffel gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead with a first-period power-play goal. Wisconsin tied the game just 32 seconds into the second period, but Minnesota quickly regained control with goals from Jacob Cepis and Matson in the next three minutes. Matson put Minnesota up 4-1 at the 18:40 mark of the second period and there was no looking back for the Gophers. Patterson was the story of the third period, as he made 19 of his 36 saves in the final frame. The junior did yield one goal, a five-on-three tally with 31 seconds remaining. Pat White scored the lone Minnesota goal in the third period. Minnesota is now 12-3-3 when scoring first, 12-1-2 when leading after one period and 13-0-1 when leading after two periods.
Usual Suspects?
The Gophers played last night without Jay Barriball (team's leading scorer with 23 points entering last night) and Jake Hansen (tied for the team lead in points with seven in the 2011 calendar year entering last night) but still piled up five goals on 32 shots. Scoring for Minnesota was Taylor Matson (2g), Mike Hoeffel, Jacob Cepis and Pat White. Those four players also scored in Minnesota's 7-3 romp of No. 4 Denver on Feb. 12, which was the last game the Gophers played. Prior to the Denver game, Matson had gone 14 games without a goal, while White had gone 13 and Cepis eight.
30 Something
Kent Patterson made 36 saves in Minnesota's 5-2 win last night. It was the tenth time that Patterson has stopped 30 or more shots and the Gophers are 6-2-2 in those games.
Power Surge
Minnesota has scored 12 combined goals in its last two games against No. 12 Wisconsin (5 goals) and No. 4 Denver (7 goals). Prior to the outburst, the Gophers scored 12 combined goals in their last five games (Jan. 28-Feb. 11). One reason for the recent goal eruption is that Minnesota's power play is 5-10 (50%) in the last two games. From Jan. 28-Feb. 11, Minnesota was 2-25 (8%) with a man advantage.
Back To Back
Minnesota beat No. 4 Denver on Feb. 12 and No. 12 Wisconsin last night for back-to-back wins. It was the first time the Gophers have won consecutive games since Nov. 19-20 at Michigan Tech. Minnesota has not won three straight games since Oct. 24-30.
Say What?
Minnesota racked up 29 penalty minutes from 13 penalties last night but still won 5-2. Minnesota is 8-3-1 when it takes more penalties than its opponent is 3-1-0 when taking 10 or more penalties.
Against Ranked Teams
Minnesota is 5-4-2 against teams ranked in top 12 by USCHO.com this year (rankings at time of game).
