The Gophers (12-2-3, 3-0-1 B1G) and Colgate (7-9-3, 5-3-2 ECAC) met tonight at Mariucci Arena in the second game of the Mariucci Classic tournament. Colgate surprised everyone in the building, by tying Minnesota, and then winning the shootout, 2-1, to advance to the Championship game. 9,520 was the paid attendance.
Here is what I saw.
- Gophers peppered the Colgate net early and often in the first period, with a majority of the game being played in the Colgate end. But they couldn’t get one past Colgate goaltender Charlie Finn. Colgate seemed content to weather the storm by creating a defensive shell in their own end. They allowed the Gophers to enter the zone, but then surrounded and suffocated the puck carrier. Pretty effective. Of course, Finn played well, which was key.
- Nice to see Tom Serratore back on the ice after a lower body injury kept him out of the last series at Michigan State. Looked no worse for the wear.
- Adam Wilcox didn’t seem comfortable in nets, and looked like he was really fighting off shots at times. A little rust after the layoff, perhaps.
- The second period was a comedy of errors for Minnesota, with two Gophers running into each other in front of an open net while going for a loose puck, Sam Warning missing a shot as he skated up the slot untouched, and then crashing into the net, knocking it from it’s moorings. Then Adam Wilcox let a little drizzler of a shot get the best of him, and Colgate poked in the rebound as Wilcox kicked it around the crease. And finally, the Gophers gave up a 2-on-0 on Colgate’s second goal, to give them a 2-1 lead.
- Kyle Rau got his 100th career point as a Gopher in the third period, when he assisted on Travis Boyd’s power play goal that tied it at two.
- My Coaches Corner moment... "The Gophers should avoid shootouts, instead winning in regulation." This has been Coaches Corner.
Here are the post game comments:
Colgate Head Coach Don Vaughan:
Regarding the game…. “It feels great. I’m really proud of our guys. It’s a great hockey environment. I said to our guys before the game, if you can’t get up for a game at Mariucci, it’s probably time to take up chess, or something else. The energy in that building was phenomenal tonight. I thought our young team really answered the bell. It was an entertaining game. I mean, they fired a lot of pucks at our goaltender tonight. I thought he played well. The scoring chances at the end of the night may have evened out, even though we didn’t have as many shots as they did. I’m proud of our team. I don’t know if there’s too many teams in the country that skate as well as this Gopher team. It’s a great test for our team, and the big sheet didn’t intimidate us too much. I was pleased with our effort up and down our lineup”
Minnesota Associate Head Coach Mike Guentzel:
Regarding the game…. “I think it feels like the glass is half empty. This is the third time it’s happened this year. I mean, we have three ties on our record, but we’ve lost all three games in a shootout. And tonight might be the first time we’ve scored in a shootout. I mean, it’s a hollow feeling in the dressing room. Nobody is more competitive than our goalie. He doesn’t like to get scored on. Our guys are obviously disappointed, because we’re not scoring in those opportunities. I mean, we have a 1-0 lead in the second, we get a 2-on-0, and we don’t convert. And then they score thirty seconds later, now it’s a game. The bottom line for me tonight, is if you turn pucks over like we did on the blue line and in the neutral zone, it’s gonna cost you a hockey game. We tied, but it feels like a loss. The turnovers are something we’re going to have to address. I didn’t feel like there was any rust, because in the first five minutes of the game I looked up and it was 8-1 (shots). I thought we had good energy, and good pressure, and we were doing some good things. I think we ran a little bit out of emotion, and a little bit out of gas. But you have to give them credit, they’re a good team. They’ve played a good schedule this year. I mean, they’ve played some of the best teams. St. Cloud beat em earlier in the year, and scored with three and a half minutes to go in the game, similar to what we had to do to tie today. We just have to find a way to get some guys scoring some goals”
Regarding Colgate Goaltender Charlie Finn…. “Yeah, he was good. He was really good in the first four minutes. We had some pressure around the net, and some second shot opportunities. We thought we could expose some things, but we just never got to it. I give their defenseman a lot of credit. They did a good job picking up rebounds and boxing us out. They did a real good job of relieving some pressure on our forecheck. I mean, we don’t necessarily always let teams set up behind their net, and dictate on a breakout what they’re going to do. But tonight, for some reason, early in the game especially, we let them stand behind the net and break the puck out more than we’d like”
Regarding the team…. “I think it’s a process here. I think we have to build. I think we have to get better. Let’s not forget the fact that we have a lot of youthful players. You know, no excuse, we’re missing some players. I give our defenseman a great deal of credit tonight. There’s guys that played twenty six, twenty seven, heavy minutes, because we had five. It’s the way it is, and you make the best of it. We have no excuses, whether it’s coaching, not scoring, or having short handed, there’s no excuse for us. They’re a good team. We got a tie, and we’re not going to play tomorrow not against Ferris, but we’re going to play RPI, who’s another good team, at seven o’clock”
Regarding Coach Lucia being back tomorrow night…. “I have not talked to Don. Don text us yesterday, and said that they were going to try and get back, and that’s all I know”
Regarding Hudson Fasching & Brady Skjei being back tomorrow…. “I hope so. You know. Any time you’re a coach, you want to put your best players on the rink, and give yourself the best chance, and that’s our goal. We certainly like the Mariucci Classic, because you’ve always had kids who have gone to the world juniors. But, you know, it’s a chance for them to grow their games, but it’s also a chance for us to start building our team, and getting our team where it needs to be”
Regarding the defense…. “We grab em a little bit at times and tell em they gotta stay back. I mean, it’s hard because (Mike) Reilly and (Ben) Marshall, and people like that, they can all skate. And they want to push the pace, and they realize the importance of the first goal, or getting a lead, and building on a lead. Our defensive corps got seventeen or eighteen goals this year. So it’s real hard to keep em back, because it’s their game, it’s what they do well. But tonight we asked em to make sure that they supported the rush, and don’t get too deep in the offensive zone. It was hard early. I thought they did a better job as the game went along, up until maybe the overtime, because boy, they sure seemed to have some good opportunities late. I was pleased with those guys, they did a good job. Anytime you give up two goals, you have a chance to win a hockey game. They only give up two, and we didn’t win a game. If we get to three, we win. That’s hockey. That’s our motto here, two or less every night, gives us a great chance. We couldn’t get to three, and that’s why we don’t play for a trophy tomorrow night”
Jake Bischoff:
Regarding the game…. “We came into this tournament hoping to obviously advance to the next round, and hoping to play for a championship. Not playing in that championship game tomorrow definitely, definitely, feels like a loss. We were looking forward to playing Ferris State tomorrow. Disappointed that we’re not going to”
Regarding the defense…. “With five D, you’re going out there a lot more, obviously. But, I mean, we were ready for it. We knew it was coming. Not gonna use it as an excuse. We were a little more tired at times, but it wasn’t a horrible adjustment”
Kyle Rau:
Regarding the game…. “Yeah, it feels like a loss. We’ve gotta start winning some shootouts. At the end of the year in the Big Ten, we’re going to need those points. I know this wasn’t a Big Ten game, but we’ve gotta start winning”
Regarding scoring his 100th point…. “It’s pretty cool. I’m disappointed in the loss, but I guess it’s the one positive that I can take. But, I mean, it’s something I’ll look back on when I’m older, and think it’s cool seeing my name in a program. But right now, it’s not that big of a deal”
Regarding shootouts practice…. “Yeah, we do it once a week in practice. It’s one of those deals where we’ve gotta start getting it done”
Regarding Colgate Goaltender Charlie Finn…. “He was just square, and he made all of his first saves like he was supposed to. We just didn’t have enough traffic, and didn’t get to the rebounds”
Colgate will take on Ferris State in the Championship game at 4:00, and the Gophers will take on R.P.I. tomorrow night at 7:10, in the Third Place game of the Mariucci Classic. The game is scheduled to be broadcast on the B1G Network.
Here is what I saw.
- Gophers peppered the Colgate net early and often in the first period, with a majority of the game being played in the Colgate end. But they couldn’t get one past Colgate goaltender Charlie Finn. Colgate seemed content to weather the storm by creating a defensive shell in their own end. They allowed the Gophers to enter the zone, but then surrounded and suffocated the puck carrier. Pretty effective. Of course, Finn played well, which was key.
- Nice to see Tom Serratore back on the ice after a lower body injury kept him out of the last series at Michigan State. Looked no worse for the wear.
- Adam Wilcox didn’t seem comfortable in nets, and looked like he was really fighting off shots at times. A little rust after the layoff, perhaps.
- The second period was a comedy of errors for Minnesota, with two Gophers running into each other in front of an open net while going for a loose puck, Sam Warning missing a shot as he skated up the slot untouched, and then crashing into the net, knocking it from it’s moorings. Then Adam Wilcox let a little drizzler of a shot get the best of him, and Colgate poked in the rebound as Wilcox kicked it around the crease. And finally, the Gophers gave up a 2-on-0 on Colgate’s second goal, to give them a 2-1 lead.
- Kyle Rau got his 100th career point as a Gopher in the third period, when he assisted on Travis Boyd’s power play goal that tied it at two.
- My Coaches Corner moment... "The Gophers should avoid shootouts, instead winning in regulation." This has been Coaches Corner.
Here are the post game comments:
Colgate Head Coach Don Vaughan:
Regarding the game…. “It feels great. I’m really proud of our guys. It’s a great hockey environment. I said to our guys before the game, if you can’t get up for a game at Mariucci, it’s probably time to take up chess, or something else. The energy in that building was phenomenal tonight. I thought our young team really answered the bell. It was an entertaining game. I mean, they fired a lot of pucks at our goaltender tonight. I thought he played well. The scoring chances at the end of the night may have evened out, even though we didn’t have as many shots as they did. I’m proud of our team. I don’t know if there’s too many teams in the country that skate as well as this Gopher team. It’s a great test for our team, and the big sheet didn’t intimidate us too much. I was pleased with our effort up and down our lineup”
Minnesota Associate Head Coach Mike Guentzel:
Regarding the game…. “I think it feels like the glass is half empty. This is the third time it’s happened this year. I mean, we have three ties on our record, but we’ve lost all three games in a shootout. And tonight might be the first time we’ve scored in a shootout. I mean, it’s a hollow feeling in the dressing room. Nobody is more competitive than our goalie. He doesn’t like to get scored on. Our guys are obviously disappointed, because we’re not scoring in those opportunities. I mean, we have a 1-0 lead in the second, we get a 2-on-0, and we don’t convert. And then they score thirty seconds later, now it’s a game. The bottom line for me tonight, is if you turn pucks over like we did on the blue line and in the neutral zone, it’s gonna cost you a hockey game. We tied, but it feels like a loss. The turnovers are something we’re going to have to address. I didn’t feel like there was any rust, because in the first five minutes of the game I looked up and it was 8-1 (shots). I thought we had good energy, and good pressure, and we were doing some good things. I think we ran a little bit out of emotion, and a little bit out of gas. But you have to give them credit, they’re a good team. They’ve played a good schedule this year. I mean, they’ve played some of the best teams. St. Cloud beat em earlier in the year, and scored with three and a half minutes to go in the game, similar to what we had to do to tie today. We just have to find a way to get some guys scoring some goals”
Regarding Colgate Goaltender Charlie Finn…. “Yeah, he was good. He was really good in the first four minutes. We had some pressure around the net, and some second shot opportunities. We thought we could expose some things, but we just never got to it. I give their defenseman a lot of credit. They did a good job picking up rebounds and boxing us out. They did a real good job of relieving some pressure on our forecheck. I mean, we don’t necessarily always let teams set up behind their net, and dictate on a breakout what they’re going to do. But tonight, for some reason, early in the game especially, we let them stand behind the net and break the puck out more than we’d like”
Regarding the team…. “I think it’s a process here. I think we have to build. I think we have to get better. Let’s not forget the fact that we have a lot of youthful players. You know, no excuse, we’re missing some players. I give our defenseman a great deal of credit tonight. There’s guys that played twenty six, twenty seven, heavy minutes, because we had five. It’s the way it is, and you make the best of it. We have no excuses, whether it’s coaching, not scoring, or having short handed, there’s no excuse for us. They’re a good team. We got a tie, and we’re not going to play tomorrow not against Ferris, but we’re going to play RPI, who’s another good team, at seven o’clock”
Regarding Coach Lucia being back tomorrow night…. “I have not talked to Don. Don text us yesterday, and said that they were going to try and get back, and that’s all I know”
Regarding Hudson Fasching & Brady Skjei being back tomorrow…. “I hope so. You know. Any time you’re a coach, you want to put your best players on the rink, and give yourself the best chance, and that’s our goal. We certainly like the Mariucci Classic, because you’ve always had kids who have gone to the world juniors. But, you know, it’s a chance for them to grow their games, but it’s also a chance for us to start building our team, and getting our team where it needs to be”
Regarding the defense…. “We grab em a little bit at times and tell em they gotta stay back. I mean, it’s hard because (Mike) Reilly and (Ben) Marshall, and people like that, they can all skate. And they want to push the pace, and they realize the importance of the first goal, or getting a lead, and building on a lead. Our defensive corps got seventeen or eighteen goals this year. So it’s real hard to keep em back, because it’s their game, it’s what they do well. But tonight we asked em to make sure that they supported the rush, and don’t get too deep in the offensive zone. It was hard early. I thought they did a better job as the game went along, up until maybe the overtime, because boy, they sure seemed to have some good opportunities late. I was pleased with those guys, they did a good job. Anytime you give up two goals, you have a chance to win a hockey game. They only give up two, and we didn’t win a game. If we get to three, we win. That’s hockey. That’s our motto here, two or less every night, gives us a great chance. We couldn’t get to three, and that’s why we don’t play for a trophy tomorrow night”
Jake Bischoff:
Regarding the game…. “We came into this tournament hoping to obviously advance to the next round, and hoping to play for a championship. Not playing in that championship game tomorrow definitely, definitely, feels like a loss. We were looking forward to playing Ferris State tomorrow. Disappointed that we’re not going to”
Regarding the defense…. “With five D, you’re going out there a lot more, obviously. But, I mean, we were ready for it. We knew it was coming. Not gonna use it as an excuse. We were a little more tired at times, but it wasn’t a horrible adjustment”
Kyle Rau:
Regarding the game…. “Yeah, it feels like a loss. We’ve gotta start winning some shootouts. At the end of the year in the Big Ten, we’re going to need those points. I know this wasn’t a Big Ten game, but we’ve gotta start winning”
Regarding scoring his 100th point…. “It’s pretty cool. I’m disappointed in the loss, but I guess it’s the one positive that I can take. But, I mean, it’s something I’ll look back on when I’m older, and think it’s cool seeing my name in a program. But right now, it’s not that big of a deal”
Regarding shootouts practice…. “Yeah, we do it once a week in practice. It’s one of those deals where we’ve gotta start getting it done”
Regarding Colgate Goaltender Charlie Finn…. “He was just square, and he made all of his first saves like he was supposed to. We just didn’t have enough traffic, and didn’t get to the rebounds”
Colgate will take on Ferris State in the Championship game at 4:00, and the Gophers will take on R.P.I. tomorrow night at 7:10, in the Third Place game of the Mariucci Classic. The game is scheduled to be broadcast on the B1G Network.