The Gophers hope for a series split on Saturday night.
There’s no doubt, Friday night has not been good to the Gopher Hockey team. Both Nick Bjugstad, and Kyle Rau made mention of Minnesota’s Friday struggles earlier in the week, with Rau indicating that the problems the Gophers faced were a mental block more than anything else. The #2 ranked Gophers were not able to overcome whatever psychological hold the first night of the weekend has on the team, dropping a heartbreaker to the Colorado College Tigers 2-1 in front of 10,007 at Mariucci Arena. Coming off an emotionally charged split in North Dakota last weekend, Minnesota talked all week about overcoming their opening game jinx.
But talk is cheap, as they say, and has to be backed up with disciplined play on the ice. The Gophers were unable to put together an entire sixty minutes without mental lapses, and it cost them in the end.
After a scoreless first period, it was Colorado College that got on the board at 4:04 of the middle session, when Captain Nick Dineen walked right out in front of the Gopher net, and put a backhand five-hole on Minnesota Goalkeeper Kent Patterson, for a 1-0 Tiger lead. At the other end of the ice, Tigers Goalkeeper Josh Thorimbert would frustrate Minnesota all night long, stopping everything that was thrown his way.
But despite Thorimbert’s brilliant play, the Gophers looked like they might finally have the break they were looking for a little less than halfway through the third period, when Colorado College’s Archie Skalbeck was assessed a major penalty for Checking From Behind, when he drove Minnesota’s Kyle Rau into the boards in front of the Gopher bench. The hit drew a 5:00 penalty, a game misconduct, and the ire of a Minnesota crowd still reeling from the recent paralysis of a local hockey player from just such a hit. But Minnesota never mounted a serious threat with the man advantage, squandering the extended power play, and remaining goalless with just over seven minutes left in the contest.
To their credit, Colorado College did an effective job of tying up the Gopher forwards in their own end, especially down the stretch. The difference in the game, though, was undoubtedly the Tiger’s Sophomore Goaltender. Thorimbert stopped everything that came his way, giving up only one goal on 39 Minnesota shots. The Gophers finally tied the score with just 1:17 left in the game, after pulling Patterson for the extra skater, bringing the Minnesota faithful to their feet. Nick Bjugstad scored that opportunistic goal from the slot, as players from both sides littered the ice around the Tiger net. Jake Hansen and Mark Alt collected the assists for the Gophers.
The goal got the Minnesota bench going, and finally gave their fans something to cheer about. But the joy was short lived, as the Tigers scored off a face off in the Gopher end with just :36 left in the game, as Colorado College’s Tim Hall outworked the Gopher defenders, and was able to wrestle the puck past a sprawling Patterson for the game winner.
The Gophers (16-9-1, 12-5-0 WCHA) will play Colorado College (14-8-1, 11-6-0 WCHA) Saturday evening, with the 5:00 game time coming earlier than normal as part of Hockey Day Minnesota. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports North.