Live Blog Recap: Alaska Anchorage at Minnesota

Last Time Out
Minnesota earned three points last weekend at WCHA newcomer Bemidji State to improve to 8-1-1 all-time against the Beavers. On Friday, the Gophers jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 1:34 into the game on a Patrick White goal. Bemidji State answered back and led 2-1 after the first period, while outshooting the Gophers 13-8. Nick Bjugstad's second-period power-play goal tied the game 2-2 and Minnesota went up 3-2 on White's second goal of the game in the third period. The Beavers tied the game with 19 seconds left with a six-on-four goal. Both teams managed only one shot in overtime and Kent Patterson made 33 saves in the draw. 

Minnesota trailed 2-0 on Saturday with less than six minutes remaining in the second period, but rallied for a 3-2 overtime win. Bjugstad scored his first of two goals at the 17:52 mark of the second period and Mike Hoeffel tied the game at 2-2 with a power-play strike at 14:41 of the third period. Bjugstad then scored the overtime winner just 20 seconds into the five-minute session. Patterson made 29 saves in earning his 14th win of the season.

Minnesota vs. Alaska Anchorage
Minnesota has a 50-17-7 all-time record and has gone 6-2-2 in its last 10 games against Alaska Anchorage. Back on Jan. 28, the Gophers received goals from five different players in a 5-1 thumping of the Seawolves. UAA responded the next night by becoming the second team to shutout UM all season in a 1-0 win. Chris Kamal made 30 saves and Matt Bailey scored the only goal of the game 1:18 into the third period for the Seawolves. The two teams have met in the first round of the WCHA playoffs five times and this is the third meeting between the squads in the last six years. Each series has been played at Mariucci Arena and Minnesota has advanced each time, compiling a 10-1 record in the process. The lone Alaska Anchorage win was a 2-1 overtime decision on March 10, 2007 and was the Seawolves' last postseason win.

About the Seawolves
Alaska Anchorage, who came to Mariucci Arena after being swept by Denver a month and a half ago, is now visiting Minneapolis coming off a sweep of its own. Last week, the Seawolves downed Minnesota State 4-0 and 4-1 in Mankato, Minn. to tie St. Cloud State in points with 26. While extending its current win streak to three, UAA passed SCSU by virtue of the league-win tiebreaker to earn the eighth seed in the WCHA tournament. This is the second consecutive season Alaska Anchorage enters the conference playoffs as the eighth seed. Prior to last year, the Seawolves had not finished higher than ninth since 2004-05. They have not qualified for the WCHA Final Five since 2003-04 (their only appearance). This year's UAA team boasts the WCHA's top in-conference penalty kill at 85.8% (109-for-127) and has six total shorthanded goals on the season. The Seawolves are led offensively by senior Tommy Grant (15g-15a), who is tied for the WCHA lead in game-winning goals with five. UAA has three more 20-plus-point scorers in Jordan Kwas (4g-17a), Matt Bailey (10g-10a), and Craig Parkinson (8g-12a). On defense, UAA's leading scorer is Curtis Leinweber (4g-6a). Scott Warner (3g-6a) is the only defenseman who has appeared in all 34 of the team's games this year. Between the pipes, Rob Gunderson has seen the most overall time in 2010-11, but Chris Kamal has had seven of the team's last 11 decisions, going 6-1-0 with a .940 save percentage and a 1.57 goals against average in that span.

26-1
Minnesota is 26-1 in first round WCHA playoff games at Mariucci Arena. The Gophers lone loss was a 2-1 overtime setback to this weekend's opponent Alaska Anchorage on March 10, 2007.

One With Experience
Jay Barriball is the only current Gopher who played for Minnesota during the 2007 WCHA first-round meeting with Alaska Anchorage. Barriball scored twice, including the game-winner, in Minnesota's 6-2 Game 1 win on March 9, 2007. In Game 3, with Minnesota trailing 1-0, Barriball assisted on Ben Gordon's game-tying goal in the second period and helped propel the Gophers to a 3-1 win.

Unbeaten Streak
The Gophers are 5-0-2 in their last seven games, which is the team's longest unbeaten streak of the season. Previously, Minnesota had twice gone three consecutive games without a loss this season. The Gophers were 3-0-0 from Oct. 24-30 and 2-0-1 from Nov. 6-20. The seven-game streak also ties Maine for the fifth-longest current unbeaten streak in the country. (Union and Holy Cross are unbeaten in their last 11 games, while North Dakota and Miami have not lost in their last nine games). The seven-game streak is Minnesota's longest unbeaten streak since it opened the 2008-09 season with an 8-0-4 record.

Streak Stars
Cade Fairchild leads the Gophers in points (11) and assists (10) during the team's seven-game unbeaten streak. Nick Bjugstad leads the team in goals (6), while Fairchild, Patrick White, Mark Alt and Nate Condon are tied for the team lead with a +5 rating. Kent Patterson has allowed 17 goals (10 at even strength) and has a .926 save percentage and a 2.37 goals-against average during the team's unbeaten streak.

Streak Scoring
The Gophers have scored 31 goals during their current seven-game unbeaten streak for an average of 4.41 goals per game. In contrast, they have allowed 17 goals for an average of 2.42 goals per game.

Spreading It Out
Minnesota has spread out the scoring during its current seven-game unbeaten streak. The Gophers have scored at least once during 19 of their last 21 periods. The only periods they did not score in were the first period against Michigan Tech on Feb. 25 and the first period against Bemidji State on March 5. The Gophers have scored seven first-period goals, 15 second-period goals and eight third-period goals in the last seven games (Minnesota also scored one overtime goal). Eleven different players have goals and 15 different players have an assist during the unbeaten streak.

Power Surge
Minnesota's power play has been clicking as of late. In the last seven games (Minnesota 5-0-2 during that span) the Gophers have scored 11 power-play goals in 34 opportunities (32.3 percent). From Jan. 15-Feb. 11 (six previous games), Minnesota was 2-31 (6.4 percent) with a man advantage. For the year, the Gophers are 32-150 (21.3 percent) on the power play.

Above Average
The Gophers are averaging 3.24 goals per game this year. However, 74 of their 110 goals (67.2%) have come in their 16 wins this season. That means Minnesota is averaging 4.62 goals per win this year. Minnesota has scored four or more goals in 13 games this season and is 11-2-0 in those games. They have scored three or more goals in 20 games this year and are 15-2-3 in those games. Minnesota has won only one game this season (2-1 home win against St. Cloud State on Oct. 24) in which they scored less than three goals. Conversely, Minnesota averages 1.94 goals per game in a loss or tie.

Good Numbers
Minnesota racked up 91 goals in WCHA play this season, its most since 2006-07 when it also tallied 91. That year, the Gophers won the MacNaughton Cup and had the same first-round playoff opponent as they do this season: Alaska Anchorage. This season, UAA put up 62 in-conference goals, identical to their 2006-07 WCHA regular season total.

Patterson Honored
Junior goaltender Kent Patterson was named to the All-WCHA Second Team. Patterson is the first Gopher to be honored on an All-WCHA team since Ryan Stoa (first team) and Jordan Schroeder (second team) were recognized after the 2008-09 season. He is the first Minnesota goaltender to be named to a postseason All-WCHA team since Adam Hauser (third team) after the 2000-01 season. The 21-year-old junior led the WCHA with a .926 save percentage and was second in the league with a 2.31 goals-against average. His 67.4 winning percentage was third best in the league and his 13 WCHA wins tied him for third most in the league. Patterson recorded WCHA wins against Alaska Anchorage, Bemidji State, Colorado College, Denver, Michigan Tech, Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota, St. Cloud State and Wisconsin. The only WCHA team that he played against and did not beat was Minnesota State.

30 Something
Kent Patterson is at his best when he sees a lot of shots. Patterson has stopped 30 or more shots in 12 games this year and the Gophers are 6-2-4 in those games (3-0-1 at home and 3-2-3 on the road). In those 12 games, Patterson has a .930 save percentage and a 2.52 goals-against average.  

Bjugstad Honored
Freshman center Nick Bjugstad was named the WCHA Co-Rookie of the Week for March 8. Bjugstad, who won the award last week, shares the honor this week with Alaska Anchorage goaltender Chris Kamal. Bjugstad had three goals (including the overtime winner on Saturday) and one assist as Minnesota earned three of four points at Bemidji State last weekend. Bjugstad is the eighth Gopher to be recognized by the WCHA this year, but is the first multiple-award winner. He joins Jacob Cepis, Kent Patterson, Mike Hoeffel, Taylor Matson, Nate Condon and Jay Barriball as being honored by the WCHA this year.

Just A Nick
Since returning from leading the United States to a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship, freshman center Nick Bjugstad has 15 points (6g-9a) in 14 games. Bjugstad had four points (2g-2a) in his 13 games before heading to the World Junior Championship. 

Back With A Bang
Senior Jay Barriball, who returned to action last week after missing six games with a lower-body injury, assisted on four of Minnesota's six goals at Bemidji State. He had one assist on Friday and then assisted on all three goals on Saturday to tie his career high with three assists in one game (he had three assists on Nov. 19 in a 6-4 win at Michigan Tech).

Among The Best
Barriball's assist last Friday at Bemidji State was the 75th of his career. He now has 51 career goals and 78 career assists, which puts him in elite company. Since 1950, he is only the 33rd Gopher to reach 50 career goals and 75 career assists in his career. He is the first Minnesota player to accomplish the feat since Troy Riddle (2000-04) ended his career with 82 goals and 96 assists.

Not A Lot
Minnesota finished the regular season with only four road losses, which is the fewest amount of road defeats for the Gophers since the 2006-07 season when they lost only twice away from home (2-1 at Wisconsin on Jan. 12 and 5-1 at St. Cloud State on Feb. 23) during the regular season.

Winning
The Gophers beat Bemidji State 3-2 in overtime last Saturday. It was Minnesota's first overtime win in 13 games and first since they defeated Northeastern 3-2 on Jan. 3, 2009.

More Winning
Last Saturday also marked the first time this season that Minnesota won a game trailing after two periods. The Gophers were down 2-1 with 20 minutes left to play, but rallied for the 3-2 overtime win. It was their first win while trailing after two periods since they came back to beat Bowling Green 3-1 on Jan. 2, 2010.

Point Taken
The Gophers tied Bemidji State 3-3 last Friday, but it was the first time all season that Minnesota earned a point when trailing after the first period (BSU led 2-1 after the first period). Last Saturday, was the first time Minnesota won this year when trailing after the first period. The Gophers were 0-8-0 on the season when trailing after the first period before last weekend, but are now 1-8-1.

Multiple Goals
The Gophers have six players on their roster - Jay Barriball (51), Mike Hoeffel (47), Patrick White (27), Cade Fairchild (21), Jacob Cepis (20) and Jake Hansen (19) - who have scored 15 or more career goals. Until last weekend only Barriball, Hoeffel and Hansen had recorded multiple-goal games. White joined the club last Friday when he scored twice for his first multiple-goal game of his career.

Home Cooking
Minnesota has scored 60 goals at home this year and allowed 57. Through Minnesota's first nine home games this season the Gophers were outscored 36-25 at Mariucci Arena (season low -11 goal differential at home). Since then (11 games) Minnesota has outscored opponents 35-21 (+14 goal differential) at Mariucci Arena.

Cepis, Haula Score
When Jacob Cepis and Erik Haula score the result is usually a positive one for the Gophers. Minnesota is 8-1-3 when Cepis scores a goal and 14-3-3 when he records a point. The Gophers are 11-1-2 when Haula has at least one assist and are 12-3-1 when he has a point. Last Saturday's 3-2 overtime win at Bemidji State was the first game that Minnesota won all year when neither Cepis nor Haula registered a point.

Say What?
Minnesota is 9-3-1 when it takes more penalties than its opponent and is 4-1-0 when taking 10 or more penalties.

A Good Month
Minnesota scored 32 goals in eight February games (4.00 goals per game) for its second-most productive offensive month of the season. The Gophers scored 33 goals in eight October games for a 4.125 goals per game average. Minnesota averaged 3.00 goals per game in November (18 goals/6 games), 2.2 goals per game in January (11 goals/5 games) and 2.00 goals per game in December (10 goals/5 games). For the year, Minnesota averages 3.24 goals per game (110 goals/34 games).

Fair Point
Cade Fairchild led all NCAA defensemen with 12 points (3g-9a) in February. Fairchild has 24 points this season, which means he registered 50.0 percent of his season points in February. Fairchild had a point in seven of eight games and took only one minor penalty during the month. Minnesota scored 32 goals in February, meaning Fairchild was directly involved in 37.5 percent of them. Fairchild was on the ice for 17 (53.1 percent) of Minnesota's 32 goals.

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