The #2 ranked Gophers (20-6-4, 12-6-4 WCHA) took on #18 Wisconsin (13-10-7, 10-7-7 WCHA) this afternoon at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois in the Hockey City Classic. Following a 3-2 win in Madison on Friday night, Minnesota fell to the Badgers by the same score this afternoon in the matinee of the hockey double header that saw Notre Dame sneak by Miami 2-1.
Here is what I saw.
* Play was in the Wisconsin end a majority of the game. The Badgers got their first goal in the second period, while getting their first real pressure of the game. They followed that up with two more goals in the span of a little over three minutes, which ended up doing the Gophers in.
* Ice was not ideal for the Gophers and Wisconsin, but better than what Miami & Notre Dame had to work with. The sun went behind the stands right about the time the puck was dropped, which helped. Still, you could see the skating was not as confident as it is on an indoor rink, puck handling was almost non existent, and the ice looked really rough, particularly in the south end of the stadium. Ultimately, the Gophers weren't using shabby ice as an excuse, and the Badgers were playing on the same rink, so…
* Minnesota was well represented in the stands, but no Goldie, no band, and no cheerleaders for the Gophers. That was a real disappointment. In fairness, nobody brought their cheerleaders. But Miami (Ohio), Notre Dame and Wisconsin all brought their bands, and Miami (Ohio) and Wisconsin dragged their mascots along. I think we should expect more, being the "State of Hockey". We should have made more of an effort to overshadow, or at least match what the other schools had. It was good to see the fan support though, considering Wisconsin is only a couple of hours away.
* You could see the disappointment on the faces of the players after the game in the bowels of Soldier Field, but the consensus seemed to be that, despite the outcome, everyone had a good time here. In the post game press conference, Don Lucia, Zach Budish & Nate Schmidt lauded the people involved here in Chicago (InterSport ), who put on a great event. As the players and coaches kept heaping praise on Intersport, I couldn't help but wonder how much of that was "brown nosing" in an attempt to lure InterSport into looking in the direction of TCF Stadium next winter. Coach Lucia always heaps praise on the opponent, so it's probably just him being polite again. And as goes the Coach, so go his players. Another point of pride for the Gopher Hockey program, in my opinion.
Post game comments to come.
The Gophers will take on the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs next weekend at Mariucci Arena. Game time is 7:00 PM (Central) both nights, with the Friday night game being broadcast on Fox Sports North PLUS, and Saturday's game being carried by the Big Ten Network.
Here is what I saw.
* Play was in the Wisconsin end a majority of the game. The Badgers got their first goal in the second period, while getting their first real pressure of the game. They followed that up with two more goals in the span of a little over three minutes, which ended up doing the Gophers in.
* Ice was not ideal for the Gophers and Wisconsin, but better than what Miami & Notre Dame had to work with. The sun went behind the stands right about the time the puck was dropped, which helped. Still, you could see the skating was not as confident as it is on an indoor rink, puck handling was almost non existent, and the ice looked really rough, particularly in the south end of the stadium. Ultimately, the Gophers weren't using shabby ice as an excuse, and the Badgers were playing on the same rink, so…
* Minnesota was well represented in the stands, but no Goldie, no band, and no cheerleaders for the Gophers. That was a real disappointment. In fairness, nobody brought their cheerleaders. But Miami (Ohio), Notre Dame and Wisconsin all brought their bands, and Miami (Ohio) and Wisconsin dragged their mascots along. I think we should expect more, being the "State of Hockey". We should have made more of an effort to overshadow, or at least match what the other schools had. It was good to see the fan support though, considering Wisconsin is only a couple of hours away.
* You could see the disappointment on the faces of the players after the game in the bowels of Soldier Field, but the consensus seemed to be that, despite the outcome, everyone had a good time here. In the post game press conference, Don Lucia, Zach Budish & Nate Schmidt lauded the people involved here in Chicago (InterSport ), who put on a great event. As the players and coaches kept heaping praise on Intersport, I couldn't help but wonder how much of that was "brown nosing" in an attempt to lure InterSport into looking in the direction of TCF Stadium next winter. Coach Lucia always heaps praise on the opponent, so it's probably just him being polite again. And as goes the Coach, so go his players. Another point of pride for the Gopher Hockey program, in my opinion.
Post game comments to come.
The Gophers will take on the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs next weekend at Mariucci Arena. Game time is 7:00 PM (Central) both nights, with the Friday night game being broadcast on Fox Sports North PLUS, and Saturday's game being carried by the Big Ten Network.