Gophers Top Bemidji State, 5-2 in Home Opener

Joined
Aug 27, 2013
Messages
53
Reaction score
0
Points
6
After a week off, following their Ice Breaker Championship, the No. 1 Golden Gophers took the ice against in-state foe, Bemidji State. Minnesota got off to a blazing start, peppering the Beavers early. The Gophers kept their foot on the gas, tallying five goals as Adam Wilcox made 29 saves to propel Minnesota to a 5-2 win in the series opener.

Game Notes
– First, I’ll say that Mariucci was just buzzing pregame. The unveiling of the Big Ten Championship banner got everyone fired up and the crowd was really loud. I honestly didn’t expect that when playing a team like Bemidji (no offense, Beaver fans). The atmosphere carried over to the play on the ice as Minnesota just blasted BSU, jumping out to a big lead in shots in the first few minutes.

“I really thought the fans were great tonight,” said Travis Boyd who tallied a powerplay goal and a shorthanded goal. “I don’t know if it was because of the home opener or the banner raising or whatever, but it was a packed barn and there’s a lot of energy in the building.”

– The Gophers had two highlight reel goals on Friday. Minnesota’s first came on just a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play between Justin Kloos, Sam Warning, and Taylor Cammarata. That line looked great offensively tonight, especially since it was (I believe) their first time playing together. Lots of speed and skill from those three and it showed tonight.

“I thought that line looked good tonight,” said Don Lucia. “I was really happy with the play of that line.”

Minnesota’s second goal came off a Kyle Rau dangle. The senior got the feed from freshman Leon Bristedt and wove in between the defenders and slipped it past BSU goaltender, Michael Bitzer. It was Bristedt’s first career point as a Gopher but it all happened thanks to Rau’s nifty puck-handling.

– Adam Wilcox was stellar again. The final score of 5-2 wasn’t indicative of the type of game it was. The Beavers tallied 31 shots on net and put Wilcox in some very tough spots. On one play, the puck was just about to cross the line when Wilcox reached back with his stick and swatted it away.

“He’s had so many good saves; that guy’s just unbelieveable,” said Boyd of Wilcox. “If you really look at it, he made a lot of big-time saves for us tonight. If he doesn’t make those saves, they could have easily put in five goals and we could have had a serious game.”

– Despite the 5-2 victory, it wasn’t a perfect performance by the Gophers. There were a number of costly turnovers that led to odd-man rushes and some nice chances for the Beavers. Minnesota had the lead but allowed Bemidji to put 13 shots on net in the third period. Defensively, there are certainly a few things that the Gophers can tighten up for tomorrow evening.

“I think we have to play 60 minutes,” said Boyd. “Tonight we started really well, then we kind of died off. We started in the second really well, then we died off…There were times when we played well and there were times when we turned the puck over and got really sloppy.”

The Gophers also found themselves in the penalty box quite a bit. Minnesota totaled 14 penalty minutes including a couple infractions that I’m sure Lucia wants back like a too many men on the ice penalty. For an experienced team, I would think this would be something that they can clean up pretty easily.

– Looking at the true freshmen; Leon Bristedt played on the first line with Hudson Fasching and Rau and did a nice job. He took a penalty that BSU eventually scored on but you can see that he will fit in nicely on this Gopher squad. Towering defenseman, Ryan Collins, played a pretty solid game tonight. At 6-foot-5, he showcased his reach a few times and was steady on the back end. He did have a couple turnovers late in the game but so did plenty of other Gophers while the Beavers were attempting to start their comeback. Lucia especially liked what he saw out of Bristedt.

“For his first game, he made some big plays out there,” said Lucia. “It’s his first college game, like any freshmen, he’ll continue to get better.”

By the Numbers
10 Gophers tallied points on Friday as the Maroon and Gold spread the puck around for some beautiful goals.

75 Career points as a Gopher for Sam Warning after he notched an assist against Bemidji.

5 Goals for the Gophers. Free Culver’s for everyone in attendance! Always a crowd favorite.

Three Stars of the Game
#3 Taylor Cammarata tallied a goal and two assists.
#2 Kyle Rau added to his team lead in points with a goal and an assist.
#1 Travis Boyd scored shorthanded and on the powerplay for his first two goals of the season.

What’s Next
The Gophers will look to complete the sweep as they take on the Beavers tomorrow at Mariucci Arena. The puck is set to drop at 7:05 and can be seen on FSN Plus.
 




Top Bottom