The #1 ranked Gophers Hockey team (17-3-3, 9-3-3 WCHA) "welcomed" North Dakota (13-7-3, 8-4-3 WCHA) into Mariucci Arena Friday night, and in front of the third largest crowd in Mariucci history at 10,318, they took down the sixth ranked team that does not currently have a nickname by a final score of 5-1.
Here is what I saw.
* Minnesota played North Dakota for the last time in the regular season for the next couple of years. Chances are pretty good that they will meet in the post season, but for right now, they do not have North Dakota on the schedule in the next couple of years due to timing and legal issues with the UND mascot.
* Only one shot per side through the first ten minutes of the game.
* You knew the game was going to be poorly officiated when you saw Marco Hunt and Derek Shepherd were the referees. But I didn't expect the linesman to be so bad too. They missed at least three offsides that weren't even close, one of which ended up costing the Gophers a goal when UND converted on the power play after a clear offsides was missed. And that power play didn't look like it should have even happened, with Jake Parenteau being called for holding on a play where it looked like he did not grab onto the UND player, and barely touched him. There was another penalty on Brady Skjei where he hit the UND player in front of the net, and that player threw himself to the ice. Clearly a dive, or embellishment. Can't stand divers in hockey. Leave the diving to Soccer players. After watching the game on TV later, I did see that the first penalty of the game on North Dakota was a pretty bad call too, and the Parenteau "penalty" may have been a make-up call for that one.
* Erik Haula, playing with a hand that is still healing, got his 100th career point when he assisted on Nate Schmidt's goal midway through the third period. He also added an open net goal. His hand look like it hampered him on a couple of occasions, but he held his own for the most part.
* UND is one of the dirtier teams the Gophers have to play every year. There's no doubt about it. Dirty enough that I almost wished the game was 2-1 or 3-1 for the Gophers, rather than 5-1. When the score is out of hand like that, just about any team gets dirtier, and you worry that someone is going to get seriously injured. But with NoDak, I get even more tense in that situation.
Here are the post game comments:
Minnesota Head Coach Don Lucia:
Regarding the game…. "When the game started I think it was kind of tentative on both sides. It was cautious, nobody wanted to make a mistake. I thought the game got better as it went along. Obviously getting that first goal for us, tying it one to one was critical. To continue and get that next goal at the end of the period was a big one. We were able to carry that lead into the third, and getting that short handed goal sealed it. We scored the open netter and the game spread a little bit at the end, but from our standpoint, we had to grind it out, and we did enough to win. It gives you a chance at a great weekend. Tomorrow's going to be very difficult, and we're going to have to come back and play better than we did tonight"
Regarding Nate Condon's short handed goal…. "It was a great play by Nate (Condon). It's one of those lucky breaks for us. (Joe) Gleason's stick broke, and Nate's got a good hockey I.Q. and attacked him one on one and was able to get around him because he didn't have his stick, and made a great shot"
Nate Condon:
Regarding the game… "It feels great. Really fun game. Can't complain, I guess. A lot of fun from start to finish. Wilcox made a lot of big saves, a couple of post to post. We've come to expect that from him, but we can't always bank on that. We got some offense tonight. A couple different lines scored here and thereIt was big for us getting scoring from all around. Hopefully it's going to carry through to tomorrow. There's nothing like beating North Dakota, and hopefully it's going to carry over into tomorrow, because there's nothing like sweeping them too "
Regarding his goal… "Well, there was no doubt I was going to the net. I was surprised he (Joe Gleason) didn't get more of a body on me, and I slipped by him. I think it was just speed. Besides the fact that he didn't have a stick, it's just getting down the ice, and beating people down the ice. Even last year when we played North Dakota, guys slouch in the zone so you can use speed to get past em, and then make a one on one move. It's been working for me"
Regarding Adam Wilcox... "(Adam) Wilcox doesn't seem to be phased by anything. He's that kind of kid. There's always the goalies where you can't talk to them before the game and stuff like that, but Wilcox just kind of hangs out and does his own thing, and whatever, it doesn't matter to him"
Regarding Zach Budish… "Besides how big he is, he makes space for everyone. He's great. He'll go in the corner and rip the puck out and give it to you in the scoring area. You can't complain about playing with someone like him"
Adam Wilcox:
Regarding the game… "It was a good game. Kind of cautious in the first period with both teams seeing what each team had to offer. After that, both teams started to execute. They got one early in the second off a weird bounce, so I wasn't too mad about it, those happen. We came back hard and Budah (Zach Budish) had a nice shot, and we just kept rolling. It's a good thing we're getting a lot of goals every night. It's huge. You can't sweep without winning on Friday night, so we're half way to where we want to be. But we've got to put this one behind us and get ready for tomorrow. These are the weekends we really get excited for. The intensity in practice is going up, and the locker room energy is up. It's a whole different atmosphere. These are the games I love to play"
Regarding playing North Dakota for the first time… "It was weird at first being on the ice with them, but once the game starts it's just like any other game. You know they're going to come a little bit harder to the net. (Danny) Kristo and (Corban) Knight like to shoot high, so I was watching for that. They got a couple breaks at the end, and you've gotta be patient with them and let them make a move before you do, otherwise they'll beat you"
Regarding his play in net… "I stayed focused all sixty minutes, and made sure I could find the puck because they're pretty good at passing on the perimeter and finding the good shot. I just stayed on top and then found the puck"
Regarding the fluke goal UND scored… "You know, it happens. You just have to forget about it. I mean, every now and then there's going to be a bad bounce like that. It's better than giving up a squeaky five-hole from the red line. That'd be a little tougher to take. You gotta shake it off. It was a power play goal for them. We survived and you move on"
Regarding any fatigue from playing every game… "Nah. Last year in juniors we played two or three games a week and I played the last twenty five games. I like it because you get in a rhythm and keep it going. Staying in every game actually helps. Definitely want the net every night"
Erik Haula:
Regarding playing despite his injury… "I wasn't going to miss it. I practiced three out of the four or five days, and practiced full contact. I proved that I could play, and I really wanted to. It's a huge series. I really wanted to play. Let's put it this way, I've never felt better after this win (smiling). Coach (Don Lucia) decided to put me on the wing with Bjugie (Nick Bjugstad) and (Kyle) Rau. I think it worked pretty well. We were trying to figure out where each other were, but in the end I think we started to play better"
Regarding scoring his 100th point… "The hundred points just shows that I play with some great guys and had some great help along the way"
Regarding the game Saturday night… "You never want to get swept anywhere, or in any seriesWe can play better, and they can play better too. It should be an interesting game"
The Gophers will take on North Dakota again tomorrow night at Mariucci Arena. It's an earlier game time than usual at 5:00 PM (Central), due to Hockey Day Minnesota. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports North.
Here is what I saw.
* Minnesota played North Dakota for the last time in the regular season for the next couple of years. Chances are pretty good that they will meet in the post season, but for right now, they do not have North Dakota on the schedule in the next couple of years due to timing and legal issues with the UND mascot.
* Only one shot per side through the first ten minutes of the game.
* You knew the game was going to be poorly officiated when you saw Marco Hunt and Derek Shepherd were the referees. But I didn't expect the linesman to be so bad too. They missed at least three offsides that weren't even close, one of which ended up costing the Gophers a goal when UND converted on the power play after a clear offsides was missed. And that power play didn't look like it should have even happened, with Jake Parenteau being called for holding on a play where it looked like he did not grab onto the UND player, and barely touched him. There was another penalty on Brady Skjei where he hit the UND player in front of the net, and that player threw himself to the ice. Clearly a dive, or embellishment. Can't stand divers in hockey. Leave the diving to Soccer players. After watching the game on TV later, I did see that the first penalty of the game on North Dakota was a pretty bad call too, and the Parenteau "penalty" may have been a make-up call for that one.
* Erik Haula, playing with a hand that is still healing, got his 100th career point when he assisted on Nate Schmidt's goal midway through the third period. He also added an open net goal. His hand look like it hampered him on a couple of occasions, but he held his own for the most part.
* UND is one of the dirtier teams the Gophers have to play every year. There's no doubt about it. Dirty enough that I almost wished the game was 2-1 or 3-1 for the Gophers, rather than 5-1. When the score is out of hand like that, just about any team gets dirtier, and you worry that someone is going to get seriously injured. But with NoDak, I get even more tense in that situation.
Here are the post game comments:
Minnesota Head Coach Don Lucia:
Regarding the game…. "When the game started I think it was kind of tentative on both sides. It was cautious, nobody wanted to make a mistake. I thought the game got better as it went along. Obviously getting that first goal for us, tying it one to one was critical. To continue and get that next goal at the end of the period was a big one. We were able to carry that lead into the third, and getting that short handed goal sealed it. We scored the open netter and the game spread a little bit at the end, but from our standpoint, we had to grind it out, and we did enough to win. It gives you a chance at a great weekend. Tomorrow's going to be very difficult, and we're going to have to come back and play better than we did tonight"
Regarding Nate Condon's short handed goal…. "It was a great play by Nate (Condon). It's one of those lucky breaks for us. (Joe) Gleason's stick broke, and Nate's got a good hockey I.Q. and attacked him one on one and was able to get around him because he didn't have his stick, and made a great shot"
Nate Condon:
Regarding the game… "It feels great. Really fun game. Can't complain, I guess. A lot of fun from start to finish. Wilcox made a lot of big saves, a couple of post to post. We've come to expect that from him, but we can't always bank on that. We got some offense tonight. A couple different lines scored here and thereIt was big for us getting scoring from all around. Hopefully it's going to carry through to tomorrow. There's nothing like beating North Dakota, and hopefully it's going to carry over into tomorrow, because there's nothing like sweeping them too "
Regarding his goal… "Well, there was no doubt I was going to the net. I was surprised he (Joe Gleason) didn't get more of a body on me, and I slipped by him. I think it was just speed. Besides the fact that he didn't have a stick, it's just getting down the ice, and beating people down the ice. Even last year when we played North Dakota, guys slouch in the zone so you can use speed to get past em, and then make a one on one move. It's been working for me"
Regarding Adam Wilcox... "(Adam) Wilcox doesn't seem to be phased by anything. He's that kind of kid. There's always the goalies where you can't talk to them before the game and stuff like that, but Wilcox just kind of hangs out and does his own thing, and whatever, it doesn't matter to him"
Regarding Zach Budish… "Besides how big he is, he makes space for everyone. He's great. He'll go in the corner and rip the puck out and give it to you in the scoring area. You can't complain about playing with someone like him"
Adam Wilcox:
Regarding the game… "It was a good game. Kind of cautious in the first period with both teams seeing what each team had to offer. After that, both teams started to execute. They got one early in the second off a weird bounce, so I wasn't too mad about it, those happen. We came back hard and Budah (Zach Budish) had a nice shot, and we just kept rolling. It's a good thing we're getting a lot of goals every night. It's huge. You can't sweep without winning on Friday night, so we're half way to where we want to be. But we've got to put this one behind us and get ready for tomorrow. These are the weekends we really get excited for. The intensity in practice is going up, and the locker room energy is up. It's a whole different atmosphere. These are the games I love to play"
Regarding playing North Dakota for the first time… "It was weird at first being on the ice with them, but once the game starts it's just like any other game. You know they're going to come a little bit harder to the net. (Danny) Kristo and (Corban) Knight like to shoot high, so I was watching for that. They got a couple breaks at the end, and you've gotta be patient with them and let them make a move before you do, otherwise they'll beat you"
Regarding his play in net… "I stayed focused all sixty minutes, and made sure I could find the puck because they're pretty good at passing on the perimeter and finding the good shot. I just stayed on top and then found the puck"
Regarding the fluke goal UND scored… "You know, it happens. You just have to forget about it. I mean, every now and then there's going to be a bad bounce like that. It's better than giving up a squeaky five-hole from the red line. That'd be a little tougher to take. You gotta shake it off. It was a power play goal for them. We survived and you move on"
Regarding any fatigue from playing every game… "Nah. Last year in juniors we played two or three games a week and I played the last twenty five games. I like it because you get in a rhythm and keep it going. Staying in every game actually helps. Definitely want the net every night"
Erik Haula:
Regarding playing despite his injury… "I wasn't going to miss it. I practiced three out of the four or five days, and practiced full contact. I proved that I could play, and I really wanted to. It's a huge series. I really wanted to play. Let's put it this way, I've never felt better after this win (smiling). Coach (Don Lucia) decided to put me on the wing with Bjugie (Nick Bjugstad) and (Kyle) Rau. I think it worked pretty well. We were trying to figure out where each other were, but in the end I think we started to play better"
Regarding scoring his 100th point… "The hundred points just shows that I play with some great guys and had some great help along the way"
Regarding the game Saturday night… "You never want to get swept anywhere, or in any seriesWe can play better, and they can play better too. It should be an interesting game"
The Gophers will take on North Dakota again tomorrow night at Mariucci Arena. It's an earlier game time than usual at 5:00 PM (Central), due to Hockey Day Minnesota. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports North.
