What a difference a day makes, as the #1 Gophers (0-0-0 B1G, 8-1-1 Overall) and Mankato State (2-2-0 WCHA, 4-6-0 Overall) met in the series finale at Mariucci Arena tonight in front of 9838. Friday night’s Maverick squad was listless. But Saturday saw a completely different team attitude, as they came out fighting hard, only to suffer the same outcome. Freshman Defenseman Jake Bischoff got the game winner six minutes into the game, and Michael Shibrowski pitched a shutout in a rare start, as the Gophers battled hard in a 3-0 win.
Here is what I saw…
* Michael Shibrowski was the story of the game, in a rare start in goal for the Gophers. Initially, the fan base was looking for a conspiracy theory as to why Adam Wilcox didn’t get the start. But it was simply rumored that Shibrowski was being rewarded for being a solid team player, and because it was his birthday on Friday. It doesn’t hurt that Shibrowski is a really good Goaltender. Shibrowski made the most of his start, collecting his first career shutout, while taking both the Boston Scientific “Heart of the Game” award, as well as First Star of the game. And the fans were clearly behind him. He seems to be a fan favorite, and his teammates love him too, which was evident as they mobbed him at the net after the game.
* Tom Serratore has at least one solid check every game, and tonight was no exception. But this time, he followed up his steamrolling of an MSU skater, by scoring his first goal of the season. Literally twenty seconds after he plastered a Maverick to the boards, he was shelving one on a rebound at the side of the net.
* Minnesota State was a LOT more physical tonight, and I think that was effective. They were also a lot more aggressive, and forced a lot of turnovers by Minnesota, something we didn’t see last night.
* MSU OBVIOUSLY read my game summary from last night, and took note. They looked to be targeting Taylor Cammaratta with physical play all night, after I outed him as a quiet point generator last night. Sorry, Taylor. I can say sorry to Taylor, because I’m sure he’ll be reading this too. We’re kind of a big deal here at GopherHole.
* Gophers dominated the face-off circle again tonight, out dueling MSU 37-24. That almost duplicated their advantage in the shot department, which was 36-25, in favor of Minnesota.
* The Officials really let ‘em play this weekend. I saw a lot of stuff not getting called (for both teams) both Friday and Saturday. So at least they were consistent. I thought MSU Head Coach Mike Hastings was going to have an aneurism tonight when the Referees let some stuff go. When Minnesota’s Christian Isackson had clearly high sticked the puck in front of the Minnesota State net, and it wasn’t called, I really thought his head would explode.
Here are the post game comments…
Minnesota State Head Coach Mike Hastings:
Regarding the game…. “That first period was a playoff style period. We had some opportunities. I gotta give them credit. There’s a reason they’re one in the country. There’s a reason there record is what it is. They’re good offensively, they’re good defensively. I thought we played better tonight and gave them a game tonight from the drop of the puck”
Regarding Michael Shibrowski playing instead of Adam Wilcox…. “I don’t know why they played him (Shibrowski), but obviously they made a good choice. I thought he played well. He didn’t make a mistake”
Minnesota Head Coach Don Lucia:
Regarding Michael Shibrowski…. “This was Shibby’s night tonight. We told him earlier in the week that we were going to split our goaltenders this weekend. The guys love him. He’s a tremendous teammate. He’s a guy who hasn’t played much, but he works as hard as anybody on our team. He stays after practice and takes shots from the guys, and the guys were excited for his start tonight. I thought they would be. I thought we played a little bit better and tighter defensively tonight, in front of him, than we did last night. I think it is as much chemistry as anything else. When you have a guy on your team that is such a great teammate. Earlier in the week when I talked to the captains, they asked when Shibby was going to get his opportunity. They have such respect for him. It’s nice to see good things happen to good people, and Shibby’s as good as they get. The shutout was great. I just liked the way he handled pucks, and was confident with the puck, stopping it behind the net, and moving it to the Defenseman. He looked very much in control from the beginning of the game”
Regarding the game…. "It was a hard fought game”It was 1-0 heading into the third, and there wasn’t a whole lot of chances either way up to that point. A guy that needs to chip in here or there, Tom Serratore, scored a big goal to give us that two to nothing lead. The game was more of a patient game, there wasn’t a lot of action as far as scoring opportunities especially the flurries of opportunities. Sometimes you’ve gotta find a way to get a win. We ground one out tonight. The second goal was huge. I think once we got that second goal, and then quickly got another goal thereafter, that’s the separation we needed"
Regarding Jake Bischoff…. “He hadn’t had the opportunity to do that yet this year. It was a tough call, who to take out. You want to get Justin (Holl) back in. The Freshmen here are putting pressure on the older guys, based on how they’re playing. It’s the first time he had the opportunity to play back-to-back games. We wanted to see him in that situation, and he did a great job"
Regarding Tom Serratore…. “Our black and blue line, as I like to call them, didn’t have much for scoring opportunities last night. They don’t need to score every night, but they need to chip in. Tom has scored some big goals. He doesn’t score a lot, but he has scored some big goals. He’s a good penalty killer, he blocks shots, and he makes a big hit. He’s a really good role player. It’s nice to see a guy like that get rewarded with a really important goal”
Jake Bischoff:
Regarding starting two games in a row…. "It definitely helped the confidence. It’s been the first time all year with two nights in a row with the team together. Obviously everything is still up in the air. I just have to show up every day and try to earn a role on the team. It’s really been fun so far, I’m really enjoying it”
Regarding Michael Shibrowski…. "Shibs is such a great guy. Huge role model Senior for the team. He shows up every day with a smile on his face. Such a great guy, it was really awesome to see him get a shutout for us tonight. Shibs talks a little more, and that’s nice, but they’re both really good goalies, and we’re really confident with either one in net”
Michael Shibrowski:
Regarding playing the day after his birthday…. “It was good. I guess I owe the guys for that. One of the better presents I got this year. I found out this morning. It feels good. You can’t say enough about what Adam (Wilcox) has done for us and how well he’s played. I was just kind of waiting and seeing, and it worked out that I got to play tonight, so I’m just thankful for the opportunity"
Regarding the Captains standing up for him…”It’s definitely something special. You can’t say enough about the bond we have. Throughout the game, the guys were stepping up, blocking shots, and doing everything they can to help me. That probably means the most to me. My main focus was to do my part to help us win, because I wanted to be there for them too.
Regarding the crowd being behind him…. "I was definitely able to hear it. It’s kind of fun. Sends a little shiver down your spine. It’s just fun to be out there. It was good”
Regarding his preparations for the start…. "I don’t know about nerves, maybe more excitement. I try to keep the same routine every game, no matter what. Hockey’s kind of a funny game, you never know what’s going to happen. So it was a pretty similar routine. Our goalie coach, Justin Johnson does a good job of keeping us focused. I just work hard in practice, and try to stay on top of my game”
The U of M will take on another former WCHA foe, and in state rival, when the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs come to Minneapolis next weekend for a two game series with the Gophers. Game time is 7:00 PM (Central) Friday night, and TBA on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast on Fox Sports North-PLUS… which will make a few people pretty unhappy after this weekend, I’m sure.
Here is what I saw…
* Michael Shibrowski was the story of the game, in a rare start in goal for the Gophers. Initially, the fan base was looking for a conspiracy theory as to why Adam Wilcox didn’t get the start. But it was simply rumored that Shibrowski was being rewarded for being a solid team player, and because it was his birthday on Friday. It doesn’t hurt that Shibrowski is a really good Goaltender. Shibrowski made the most of his start, collecting his first career shutout, while taking both the Boston Scientific “Heart of the Game” award, as well as First Star of the game. And the fans were clearly behind him. He seems to be a fan favorite, and his teammates love him too, which was evident as they mobbed him at the net after the game.
* Tom Serratore has at least one solid check every game, and tonight was no exception. But this time, he followed up his steamrolling of an MSU skater, by scoring his first goal of the season. Literally twenty seconds after he plastered a Maverick to the boards, he was shelving one on a rebound at the side of the net.
* Minnesota State was a LOT more physical tonight, and I think that was effective. They were also a lot more aggressive, and forced a lot of turnovers by Minnesota, something we didn’t see last night.
* MSU OBVIOUSLY read my game summary from last night, and took note. They looked to be targeting Taylor Cammaratta with physical play all night, after I outed him as a quiet point generator last night. Sorry, Taylor. I can say sorry to Taylor, because I’m sure he’ll be reading this too. We’re kind of a big deal here at GopherHole.
* Gophers dominated the face-off circle again tonight, out dueling MSU 37-24. That almost duplicated their advantage in the shot department, which was 36-25, in favor of Minnesota.
* The Officials really let ‘em play this weekend. I saw a lot of stuff not getting called (for both teams) both Friday and Saturday. So at least they were consistent. I thought MSU Head Coach Mike Hastings was going to have an aneurism tonight when the Referees let some stuff go. When Minnesota’s Christian Isackson had clearly high sticked the puck in front of the Minnesota State net, and it wasn’t called, I really thought his head would explode.
Here are the post game comments…
Minnesota State Head Coach Mike Hastings:
Regarding the game…. “That first period was a playoff style period. We had some opportunities. I gotta give them credit. There’s a reason they’re one in the country. There’s a reason there record is what it is. They’re good offensively, they’re good defensively. I thought we played better tonight and gave them a game tonight from the drop of the puck”
Regarding Michael Shibrowski playing instead of Adam Wilcox…. “I don’t know why they played him (Shibrowski), but obviously they made a good choice. I thought he played well. He didn’t make a mistake”
Minnesota Head Coach Don Lucia:
Regarding Michael Shibrowski…. “This was Shibby’s night tonight. We told him earlier in the week that we were going to split our goaltenders this weekend. The guys love him. He’s a tremendous teammate. He’s a guy who hasn’t played much, but he works as hard as anybody on our team. He stays after practice and takes shots from the guys, and the guys were excited for his start tonight. I thought they would be. I thought we played a little bit better and tighter defensively tonight, in front of him, than we did last night. I think it is as much chemistry as anything else. When you have a guy on your team that is such a great teammate. Earlier in the week when I talked to the captains, they asked when Shibby was going to get his opportunity. They have such respect for him. It’s nice to see good things happen to good people, and Shibby’s as good as they get. The shutout was great. I just liked the way he handled pucks, and was confident with the puck, stopping it behind the net, and moving it to the Defenseman. He looked very much in control from the beginning of the game”
Regarding the game…. "It was a hard fought game”It was 1-0 heading into the third, and there wasn’t a whole lot of chances either way up to that point. A guy that needs to chip in here or there, Tom Serratore, scored a big goal to give us that two to nothing lead. The game was more of a patient game, there wasn’t a lot of action as far as scoring opportunities especially the flurries of opportunities. Sometimes you’ve gotta find a way to get a win. We ground one out tonight. The second goal was huge. I think once we got that second goal, and then quickly got another goal thereafter, that’s the separation we needed"
Regarding Jake Bischoff…. “He hadn’t had the opportunity to do that yet this year. It was a tough call, who to take out. You want to get Justin (Holl) back in. The Freshmen here are putting pressure on the older guys, based on how they’re playing. It’s the first time he had the opportunity to play back-to-back games. We wanted to see him in that situation, and he did a great job"
Regarding Tom Serratore…. “Our black and blue line, as I like to call them, didn’t have much for scoring opportunities last night. They don’t need to score every night, but they need to chip in. Tom has scored some big goals. He doesn’t score a lot, but he has scored some big goals. He’s a good penalty killer, he blocks shots, and he makes a big hit. He’s a really good role player. It’s nice to see a guy like that get rewarded with a really important goal”
Jake Bischoff:
Regarding starting two games in a row…. "It definitely helped the confidence. It’s been the first time all year with two nights in a row with the team together. Obviously everything is still up in the air. I just have to show up every day and try to earn a role on the team. It’s really been fun so far, I’m really enjoying it”
Regarding Michael Shibrowski…. "Shibs is such a great guy. Huge role model Senior for the team. He shows up every day with a smile on his face. Such a great guy, it was really awesome to see him get a shutout for us tonight. Shibs talks a little more, and that’s nice, but they’re both really good goalies, and we’re really confident with either one in net”
Michael Shibrowski:
Regarding playing the day after his birthday…. “It was good. I guess I owe the guys for that. One of the better presents I got this year. I found out this morning. It feels good. You can’t say enough about what Adam (Wilcox) has done for us and how well he’s played. I was just kind of waiting and seeing, and it worked out that I got to play tonight, so I’m just thankful for the opportunity"
Regarding the Captains standing up for him…”It’s definitely something special. You can’t say enough about the bond we have. Throughout the game, the guys were stepping up, blocking shots, and doing everything they can to help me. That probably means the most to me. My main focus was to do my part to help us win, because I wanted to be there for them too.
Regarding the crowd being behind him…. "I was definitely able to hear it. It’s kind of fun. Sends a little shiver down your spine. It’s just fun to be out there. It was good”
Regarding his preparations for the start…. "I don’t know about nerves, maybe more excitement. I try to keep the same routine every game, no matter what. Hockey’s kind of a funny game, you never know what’s going to happen. So it was a pretty similar routine. Our goalie coach, Justin Johnson does a good job of keeping us focused. I just work hard in practice, and try to stay on top of my game”
The U of M will take on another former WCHA foe, and in state rival, when the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs come to Minneapolis next weekend for a two game series with the Gophers. Game time is 7:00 PM (Central) Friday night, and TBA on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast on Fox Sports North-PLUS… which will make a few people pretty unhappy after this weekend, I’m sure.
