Grant_Erickson
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The Gophers took the ice on Saturday to (unofficially) kick off the 2014-2015 campaign. Despite a slow start, the Maroon and Gold stayed poised and knocked off the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology by a score of 5-0. Captain Kyle Rau notched two goals while the trio of Adam Wilcox, Ryan Coyne, and Nick Lehr stopped all 24 NAIT shots to record the shutout.
Here is what I saw:
– Playing a team like Northern Alberta, you’d expect the Gophers to come out and just dominate. Unfortunately, the Gophers have had just one day of real practice and that was Saturday morning before the game. Meanwhile, the Ooks of NAIT have already played in five games and it was clear early on who the more game-ready team was. Thank to Wilcox, the Gophers weathered the storm and progressed as the game went on, eventually dominating the Ooks during the entire third period.
– Leon Bristedt, Jack Glover, Ryan Collins, Steve Johnson, and Robin Hoglund all made their unofficial Gopher debuts on Saturday. It was a big chance for the youngsters to show what they could do before the season starts.
I was most impressed with Bristedt, a 5-foot-8 winger from Sweden. He looked great playing in a lot of different situations. He’s got a good amount of speed, looks to be a crafty playmaker, and is strong on his skates for his size. Lucia mentioned that he could make a difference for the offense this year. Bristedt will have to wait to make his debut during the season as he will have to sit out the first weekend due to an eligibility issue while playing in Sweden. After that, he should be back in the lineup and will be one to watch for Gopher fans.
Glover, a 6-foot-3 defenseman, scored Minnesota’s first goal and made a couple other nice plays throughout the night. He has a great amount of talent and athleticism but did make a couple mistakes moving the puck, something you’d expect from a freshman blue liner in his first college game.
Collins is a massive kid on the ice. Standing 6-foot-5, he played a steady game defensively which is what the coaches will look for from these big freshmen.
Steve Johnson is yet another freshmen defenseman who saw a significant amount of ice. He’s a solid skater who made a few nifty plays with the puck. Like Glover and Collins, he didn’t look out of place on the blue line and is a promising addition to an already stacked defensive group.
Robin Hoglund didn’t get a ton of ice time on Saturday. He entered the game when Hudson Fasching left with a minor injury (Lucia noted that if it were a regular game, Fasching would have continued to play but there was no sense risking anything further. Nothing to worry about, Gopher fans). At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Hoglund brings a strong presence to Minnesota’s forwards. He looked to play with a bit more grit than we are used to seeing which is good being that the Gophers need that up front with the departure of Tom Serratore.
– It should come as no surprise but the stars of this team stood out on Saturday. Wilcox got shelled in the first as NAIT outshot Minnesota 12-9. He made a number of great saves and didn’t look rusty at all.
Kyle Rau led the Gophers with two goals, both from right in front of the net. He played a solid game and was rewarded with his two tallies.
Watching Mike Reilly on the ice makes hockey look really fun to play. He made a few ridiculous moves and should have had a couple goals but hit a post on one and couldn’t lift the puck over the pads on the other. He’s certainly going to be entertaining to watch this season.
Minnesota head coach Don Lucia:
On starting slow…“It was what I expected. A little scramble in the first period. We gotta get the shinny hockey out of them. I did think we got better as the game went on…All in all; we did some good things tonight. We moved the puck well, a little too much at times instead of having more of a shooter’s mentality but it was a good tune-up for us.”
On Kyle Rau…“He’s around the net with a nice deflection…That’s how you score goals. We need more guys to understand that if you want to score goals at this level, it’s not a goal from 40 or 50 feet, it’s being there around that five-foot area around that net.”
On trying different line combinations and playing Leon Bristedt… “We tried some different combinations and I wanted to get Leon a good look tonight knowing he can’t play next weekend so I wanted to see him in some different combinations.”
Gopher captain Kyle Rau:
On the first game of the year… “It’s good to get the freshmen a little taste. You try to get in shape as much as you want but you can’t get up to game speed so it’s just good to experience that.”
Senior forward Travis Boyd:
On the slow start… “We started slow as a team but we got better each period and I think that’s the important thing to take away from this game.”
Here is what I saw:
– Playing a team like Northern Alberta, you’d expect the Gophers to come out and just dominate. Unfortunately, the Gophers have had just one day of real practice and that was Saturday morning before the game. Meanwhile, the Ooks of NAIT have already played in five games and it was clear early on who the more game-ready team was. Thank to Wilcox, the Gophers weathered the storm and progressed as the game went on, eventually dominating the Ooks during the entire third period.
– Leon Bristedt, Jack Glover, Ryan Collins, Steve Johnson, and Robin Hoglund all made their unofficial Gopher debuts on Saturday. It was a big chance for the youngsters to show what they could do before the season starts.
I was most impressed with Bristedt, a 5-foot-8 winger from Sweden. He looked great playing in a lot of different situations. He’s got a good amount of speed, looks to be a crafty playmaker, and is strong on his skates for his size. Lucia mentioned that he could make a difference for the offense this year. Bristedt will have to wait to make his debut during the season as he will have to sit out the first weekend due to an eligibility issue while playing in Sweden. After that, he should be back in the lineup and will be one to watch for Gopher fans.
Glover, a 6-foot-3 defenseman, scored Minnesota’s first goal and made a couple other nice plays throughout the night. He has a great amount of talent and athleticism but did make a couple mistakes moving the puck, something you’d expect from a freshman blue liner in his first college game.
Collins is a massive kid on the ice. Standing 6-foot-5, he played a steady game defensively which is what the coaches will look for from these big freshmen.
Steve Johnson is yet another freshmen defenseman who saw a significant amount of ice. He’s a solid skater who made a few nifty plays with the puck. Like Glover and Collins, he didn’t look out of place on the blue line and is a promising addition to an already stacked defensive group.
Robin Hoglund didn’t get a ton of ice time on Saturday. He entered the game when Hudson Fasching left with a minor injury (Lucia noted that if it were a regular game, Fasching would have continued to play but there was no sense risking anything further. Nothing to worry about, Gopher fans). At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Hoglund brings a strong presence to Minnesota’s forwards. He looked to play with a bit more grit than we are used to seeing which is good being that the Gophers need that up front with the departure of Tom Serratore.
– It should come as no surprise but the stars of this team stood out on Saturday. Wilcox got shelled in the first as NAIT outshot Minnesota 12-9. He made a number of great saves and didn’t look rusty at all.
Kyle Rau led the Gophers with two goals, both from right in front of the net. He played a solid game and was rewarded with his two tallies.
Watching Mike Reilly on the ice makes hockey look really fun to play. He made a few ridiculous moves and should have had a couple goals but hit a post on one and couldn’t lift the puck over the pads on the other. He’s certainly going to be entertaining to watch this season.
Minnesota head coach Don Lucia:
On starting slow…“It was what I expected. A little scramble in the first period. We gotta get the shinny hockey out of them. I did think we got better as the game went on…All in all; we did some good things tonight. We moved the puck well, a little too much at times instead of having more of a shooter’s mentality but it was a good tune-up for us.”
On Kyle Rau…“He’s around the net with a nice deflection…That’s how you score goals. We need more guys to understand that if you want to score goals at this level, it’s not a goal from 40 or 50 feet, it’s being there around that five-foot area around that net.”
On trying different line combinations and playing Leon Bristedt… “We tried some different combinations and I wanted to get Leon a good look tonight knowing he can’t play next weekend so I wanted to see him in some different combinations.”
Gopher captain Kyle Rau:
On the first game of the year… “It’s good to get the freshmen a little taste. You try to get in shape as much as you want but you can’t get up to game speed so it’s just good to experience that.”
Senior forward Travis Boyd:
On the slow start… “We started slow as a team but we got better each period and I think that’s the important thing to take away from this game.”