University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Hockey: 2010-11 Season in Review
4/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Annual Awards: Junior Kent Patterson earned three awards at the team's annual banquet. The awards are voted upon by members of the team. Patterson received the John Mariucci Most Valuable Player award, the Dr. V. George Nagobads Unsung Hero award and the Tom Mohr Playoff Most Valuable Player award for his performance in the playoffs. Patterson is the first Gopher to receive all three awards in the same year (the Tom Mohr Playoff Most Valuable Player award was first given out after the 1999-2000 season). Junior forward Taylor Matson was named the Mike Crupi Most Determined Player for the second straight year, while senior forward Mike Hoeffel received the Elwin "Doc" Romnes Leadership and Sportsmanship award. Freshman forward Nick Bjugstad earned the Frank Pond Rookie of the Year award. Junior forward Nick Larson, who had a 4.00 in the fall semester, earned the John Mayasich Outstanding Student-Athlete award, and sophomore defenseman Seth Helgeson received the Donald M. Clark Community Service Award for the second straight year.
Against The Frozen Four: Minnesota played a total of seven regular-season games (three at home and four on the road) against the four teams that advanced to last weekend's Frozen Four. The only team of the four that Minnesota did not play was Notre Dame. The Gophers posted a 3-2-2 record against Michigan, Minnesota Duluth and North Dakota during the regular season. The Gophers were 1-0-0 against Michigan, 1-1-2 against Minnesota Duluth and 1-1-0 versus North Dakota.
Versus Ranked Foes: The Gophers played 14 games this past season against teams ranked in the top 20 in the final USCHO.com poll. Every game was against a team that finished the season in the top 14 and Minnesota was 6-6-2 in those games. The Gophers were 1-1-2 against No. 1 Minnesota Duluth, 1-1-0 against No. 2 North Dakota, 1-0-0 versus No. 3 Michigan, 1-1-0 against No. 7 Denver, 2-0-0 against No. 11 Colorado College, 0-1-0 versus No. 12 Union and 0-2-2 against No. 14 Nebraska Omaha.
Outside the WCHA: The Gophers played six games against non-conference opponents and were 3-2-1. The beat Michigan and Massachusetts twice, while they lost to Union and Michigan State. The tie was against Ferris State.
Road Success: 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. This past season, the Gophers lost twice at Minnesota State and once at Minnesota Duluth and North Dakota.
2700th Game: Minnesota played its 2,700 game on Oct. 30 at Colorado College. The Gophers throttled the Tigers 9-4. Freshman Nate Condon tallied five points in the win and was also +5. He was the first Gopher to record five points in one game since Ryan Potulny (4g-1a) on March 17, 2006 versus St. Cloud State and the first freshman to do so since Phil Kessel (1g-4a) on Nov. 11, 2006 versus Alaska Anchorage.
Say What?: Minnesota was 9-3-2 when it took more penalties than its opponent and is 4-1-0 when taking 10 or more penalties last season.
Goaltender Remix : The Gophers had four goaltenders (Alex Fons, Alex Kangas, Jake Kremer and Kent Patterson) on their roster this season although only two (Kangas and Patterson) saw game action. Kangas played in eight games before undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a labral tear in his left hip on Jan. 14. That left the Gophers with only two goaltenders so coach Don Lucia brought in Fons as the team's third netminder.
Kangas In The Record Books: Kangas leaves quite a legacy at Minnesota. He played 108 games for the Gophers (third in school history) en route to a 47-41-16 record. His .912 career save percentage is a school record and his 2.56 goals-against average is fourth-best all-time. Kangas recorded 2,802 career saves (third in school history). He set single-season records during his freshman year (2007-08) with a .930 save percentage and a 1.98 goals-against average in 31 games.
Patterson Honored: The injury to Alex Kangas paved the way for junior Kent Patterson to become the No. 1 starting goaltender. Patterson seized the opportunity and was named to the All-WCHA Second Team. Patterson was 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. Patterson 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.
Early Ending: Minnesota's season ended on March 12 this year, which is the earliest the Gophers have finished playing since their season ended on March 3, 1984 (5-4 loss at North Dakota in WCHA playoffs). In addition, Minnesota's season ended at the current Mariucci Arena for the first time ever. The Gophers final game of the season was a 2-0 defeat to Alaska Anchorage in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. It was only the third time in program history that the Gophers were shutout to end a season (4-0 loss at North Dakota on March 5, 1955 and 2-0 loss at Michigan on Feb. 28, 1931).
36 Games: Minnesota did not travel to Alaska this year and did not play in a preseason tournament and as a result it played only 36 games. The last time the Gophers played 36 games in a season was the 1981-82 season when they finished 22-12-2. The following year the Gophers advanced to the Frozen Four. The last time Minnesota played fewer than 36 games in a season was the 1972-73 campaign. That year the Gophers went 15-16-3 in 34 games. The following year they won the NCAA championship.
Playing At Home: Minnesota finished the season with a 9-10-3 home record. The 10 losses at home are the second-most in program history since 1950. The Gophers lost 11 home games in both the 1971-72 season and the 1976-77 season.
Iron Men: Jacob Cepis and Seth Helgeson played in all 36 games last season. Mark Alt, Nate Condon, Cade Fairchild, Jake Hansen, Mike Hoeffel and Aaron Ness played in 35 games.
Among The Best: Senior Jay Barriball finished his Minnesota career with 51 goals and 79 assists for 130 points in 154 games. Since 1950, he is only the 33rd Gopher to reach 50 career goals and 75 career assists. He is the first Minnesota player to accomplish the feat since Troy Riddle (2000-04) ended his career with 82 goals and 96 assists.
Fair Point: Cade Fairchild led all NCAA defensemen with 12 points (3g-9a) in February. Fairchild ended the year with 24 points, 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.
Fresh Idea: All ten freshmen saw action for the Gophers this year, playing in at least eight games. The freshmen combined for 86 points (28g-58a) this year. Erik Haula led the group in scoring with 24 points (6g-18a). He was followed by Nick Bjugstad (8g-12a), Nate Condon (8g-9a), Mark Alt (2g-8a), Justin Holl (1g-6a), Tom Serratore (2g-2a), Max Gardiner (1g-2a) and Nate Schmidt (1a). Jared Larson and Jake Parenteau did not record a point this past year.
Just A Nick: Nick Bjugstad was second on the team in freshman scoring (Haula led with 24 points), but recorded 16 points (six goals and 10 assists) in the team's final 16 games. Bjugstad missed five games early in the season with mononucleosis and both Mariucci Classic games as he was helping the United States earn a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship.
Signed Up: Seniors Jay Barriball, Jacob Cepis, Cade Fairchild and Mike Hoeffel all signed professional contracts upon completion of their Gopher careers. Junior Aaron Ness left school early and also signed a professional contract.
