Grant_Erickson
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On Friday evening, the No. 1 Golden Gophers (25-6-6, 14-3-3-0) looked to advance to the Big Ten Championship game against a gritty Ohio State (18-13-5, 6-9-5-4) squad. Despite peppering Ohio State with 30 shots and hitting a number of posts, the Buckeyes were able to pull the upset, 3-1 over Minnesota.
Here is what I saw:
– After watching Ohio State play last night, I knew the Gophers could be in for a fight. I can’t say I envisioned Minnesota only scoring one goal, but the Buckeyes’ resilience to fight back and top Michigan State 2-1 in overtime on Thursday showed how desperate they were to keep their season alive. Kyle Rau put it well after the loss saying, “When you play desperate teams, you’ve got to play desperate with them.”
– Penalties for both sides played a big role in disrupting the flow of the game. Just as Minnesota scored their only goal thanks to a Buckeye penalty, the Gophers rattled off three straight penalties of their own to close out the second period.
– Minnesota’s defensive game was solid tonight, not allowing too many great chances. Despite being the losing goaltender, Adam Wilcox made a number of keys saves, stopping 22 shots on the evening. The first period goal was a pretty passing play that Wilcox got a piece of but was unable to stop. The game-winner was a freak play when a soft shot ricocheted off Justin Holl’s stick and into the net.
– Looking ahead, obviously we are all cheering for the Buckeyes heading into tomorrow. Not only would it be huge to keep Wisconsin from winning the title, but Ohio State could crush the dreams of a more accomplished bubble team hoping to make it into the NCAA Tournament next week.
– The announced attendance for the game was 9,753 with a lot of empty seats on every level. Tomorrow is certainly going to be a disappointment without Minnesota fans to (partially, at least) fill the stands. The Big Ten Championship will take place Saturday at 7 p.m. CT on BTN as the Buckeyes look to keep their season alive against Wisconsin.
– Heading into next week, the Gophers will have a favorable draw and should be playing in St. Paul. With their backs against the wall and season now on the line, I expect Minnesota to come out flying in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Notes and Quotes:
Saturday’s game was the first time all season that Minnesota has lost when Kyle Rau has scored a goal. The Gophers were previously 8-0-2 when their junior captain found the back of the net.
Rau’s play seems to be picking up of late. He has 10 points in his last 14 games and five points (four goals and an assist) in his last five.
Minnesota is now 21-13-0 when playing at the Xcel Energy Center.
Minnesota head coach Don Lucia:
Regarding the Friday night loss… “Obviously something we talked about was playing on Saturday night to play for a championship. We're not going to win very often scoring one goal. That's the part that's most disappointing to me is we had some opportunities. We get a couple pipes, but they didn't go in tonight. Like I told the guys after the game, this is our last opportunity as a learning experience and you don't get any more opportunities after that.”
On penalties… “It does take some of the rhythm out of a game when there's a few more penalties. Based on our team this year, we probably prefer to play the game five-on-five than special teams.”
Regarding playoff hockey… “You look at all the teams that get beat, whether it was first round in some of the leagues, bottom teams advancing on the road. There's not that much difference between teams. It's a fine line.”
On the learning experience… “[We’ll] have a chance to watch video with the guys, spirited practice, get ready for the regional. It's disappointing not to win tonight to get to tomorrow, but that's all part of the process of the year, just like any weekend, when the weekend is over, you have to turn the page and get ready for the next week.”
Minnesota forward Travis Boyd:
On the similarity between last year’s WCHA Tournament and the Big Ten Tournament… “Yeah, I mean, pretty similar. Might be a little different. Crowd-wise it was a little bigger [last year], more into the game. Same thing, conference tournament. Once again, we kind of laid an egg here on Friday night.
On bouncing back next week… “Half our team has been through a situation like this where we've lost on Friday night the last two years. Going back to my freshman year two years ago, we were able to rebound and end up winning the regional. Going forward, we rely on our upperclassmen to lead the way, move into next week the best we can.”
Gopher captain Kyle Rau:
On what can be learned from the loss… “I think we've just got to learn that we've got to play like we did in the third period, come out ready to go. We got to do whatever it takes.”
Here is what I saw:
– After watching Ohio State play last night, I knew the Gophers could be in for a fight. I can’t say I envisioned Minnesota only scoring one goal, but the Buckeyes’ resilience to fight back and top Michigan State 2-1 in overtime on Thursday showed how desperate they were to keep their season alive. Kyle Rau put it well after the loss saying, “When you play desperate teams, you’ve got to play desperate with them.”
– Penalties for both sides played a big role in disrupting the flow of the game. Just as Minnesota scored their only goal thanks to a Buckeye penalty, the Gophers rattled off three straight penalties of their own to close out the second period.
– Minnesota’s defensive game was solid tonight, not allowing too many great chances. Despite being the losing goaltender, Adam Wilcox made a number of keys saves, stopping 22 shots on the evening. The first period goal was a pretty passing play that Wilcox got a piece of but was unable to stop. The game-winner was a freak play when a soft shot ricocheted off Justin Holl’s stick and into the net.
– Looking ahead, obviously we are all cheering for the Buckeyes heading into tomorrow. Not only would it be huge to keep Wisconsin from winning the title, but Ohio State could crush the dreams of a more accomplished bubble team hoping to make it into the NCAA Tournament next week.
– The announced attendance for the game was 9,753 with a lot of empty seats on every level. Tomorrow is certainly going to be a disappointment without Minnesota fans to (partially, at least) fill the stands. The Big Ten Championship will take place Saturday at 7 p.m. CT on BTN as the Buckeyes look to keep their season alive against Wisconsin.
– Heading into next week, the Gophers will have a favorable draw and should be playing in St. Paul. With their backs against the wall and season now on the line, I expect Minnesota to come out flying in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Notes and Quotes:
Saturday’s game was the first time all season that Minnesota has lost when Kyle Rau has scored a goal. The Gophers were previously 8-0-2 when their junior captain found the back of the net.
Rau’s play seems to be picking up of late. He has 10 points in his last 14 games and five points (four goals and an assist) in his last five.
Minnesota is now 21-13-0 when playing at the Xcel Energy Center.
Minnesota head coach Don Lucia:
Regarding the Friday night loss… “Obviously something we talked about was playing on Saturday night to play for a championship. We're not going to win very often scoring one goal. That's the part that's most disappointing to me is we had some opportunities. We get a couple pipes, but they didn't go in tonight. Like I told the guys after the game, this is our last opportunity as a learning experience and you don't get any more opportunities after that.”
On penalties… “It does take some of the rhythm out of a game when there's a few more penalties. Based on our team this year, we probably prefer to play the game five-on-five than special teams.”
Regarding playoff hockey… “You look at all the teams that get beat, whether it was first round in some of the leagues, bottom teams advancing on the road. There's not that much difference between teams. It's a fine line.”
On the learning experience… “[We’ll] have a chance to watch video with the guys, spirited practice, get ready for the regional. It's disappointing not to win tonight to get to tomorrow, but that's all part of the process of the year, just like any weekend, when the weekend is over, you have to turn the page and get ready for the next week.”
Minnesota forward Travis Boyd:
On the similarity between last year’s WCHA Tournament and the Big Ten Tournament… “Yeah, I mean, pretty similar. Might be a little different. Crowd-wise it was a little bigger [last year], more into the game. Same thing, conference tournament. Once again, we kind of laid an egg here on Friday night.
On bouncing back next week… “Half our team has been through a situation like this where we've lost on Friday night the last two years. Going back to my freshman year two years ago, we were able to rebound and end up winning the regional. Going forward, we rely on our upperclassmen to lead the way, move into next week the best we can.”
Gopher captain Kyle Rau:
On what can be learned from the loss… “I think we've just got to learn that we've got to play like we did in the third period, come out ready to go. We got to do whatever it takes.”
