TravisErickson
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The No. 13 Golden Gophers bounced back from a disappointing 2-2 tie last night against Wisconsin and dominated their border rival, 5-2, on Hockey Day Minnesota.
—Travis Boyd and Sam Warning were paired together on Minnesota’s top line and the seniors combined for three goals and two assists in the first period. I was particularly impressed with Boyd, who scored the eventual game winner by crashing the net and slamming home a rebound right before the net was dislodged. Boyd nearly netted a hat trick in the first, but he rushed a shot from the circle on the power play and missed the open net. When a team is struggling and underachieving, it’s great to see seniors step up and carry the team.
“Being a senior, you have to step up and be a leader,” said Boyd. “All together, I thought the senior class had a good game today and I think that’s a big reason why we had a good result.”
—After a dominating performance last night, Wisconsin goalie Joel Rumpel fought the puck a bit tonight. He especially struggled controlling rebounds—and it cost him. The Gophers peppered the senior with 21 shots in the first period and there were multiple second-chance opportunities. The Gophers made him pay, converting three rebounds into goals for a commanding 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. A lead Minnesota would never relinquish.
—While it’s often easy to downplay the efforts of opposing players, especially from rival teams, Grant Besse had a heck of a weekend. The former Benilde-St. Margaret’s star scored a goal and added the shootout winner for Wisconsin on Friday. He notched the only two goals for the Badgers on Saturday. He possesses a natural scoring touch and that was evident this weekend.
—About midway through the third period I was surprised the game wasn’t very chippy—at least not as chippy as I expected a blowout to be between two hated rivals. A few minutes later Joeseph LaBate and Sam Warning mixed it up between the benches and then it was on. Over the next six minutes, tempers flared, cheap shots were dished out, melees ensued, penalty boxes were filled to max occupancy, and 15 penalties were issued. The ending was more fitting of a UND/Gopher game, but it was good to see some fervor rekindled in the Wisconsin rivalry.
“At the end of the game, I was proud of the way our guys stood up for each other and handled that situation,” said Travis Boyd. “It’s a rivalry game, I think that’s expected. A long-standing rivalry between the two of us, it’s the border battle. It just kind of happens.”
By the Numbers
50 Shots for the Golden Gophers; the first time they’ve hit that mark this season.
28 Penalties between the two teams. A 110 penalty minutes total.
30 Games since Christian Isackson last scored. Great to see the senior notch his first goal of the season tonight.
Quotable
“Now that we can’t play North Dakota, this is kind of the number one rivalry, especially with how it ended [tonight]. It’s kind of like a rivalry reborn. The last couple years we haven’t really had any games like that. It makes the games more fun to play in. I’m excited to go there in two weeks, get in front of their fans, and get another shot at them.” – Travis Boyd
Three Stars of the Game
No. 3 Travis Boyd (2g, 1a)
No. 2 Mike Reilly (3a)
No. 1 Sam Warning (1g, 1a)
What’s Next?
The Gophers return to the rink next weekend at the Xcel Energy Center for the North Star College Cup. Minnesota opens the tournament on Friday against No. 1 Minnesota State. They will play either Minnesota Duluth or Bemidji State on Saturday. The FOX Sports North network will broadcast all four games of the tournament.
—Travis Boyd and Sam Warning were paired together on Minnesota’s top line and the seniors combined for three goals and two assists in the first period. I was particularly impressed with Boyd, who scored the eventual game winner by crashing the net and slamming home a rebound right before the net was dislodged. Boyd nearly netted a hat trick in the first, but he rushed a shot from the circle on the power play and missed the open net. When a team is struggling and underachieving, it’s great to see seniors step up and carry the team.
“Being a senior, you have to step up and be a leader,” said Boyd. “All together, I thought the senior class had a good game today and I think that’s a big reason why we had a good result.”
—After a dominating performance last night, Wisconsin goalie Joel Rumpel fought the puck a bit tonight. He especially struggled controlling rebounds—and it cost him. The Gophers peppered the senior with 21 shots in the first period and there were multiple second-chance opportunities. The Gophers made him pay, converting three rebounds into goals for a commanding 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. A lead Minnesota would never relinquish.
—While it’s often easy to downplay the efforts of opposing players, especially from rival teams, Grant Besse had a heck of a weekend. The former Benilde-St. Margaret’s star scored a goal and added the shootout winner for Wisconsin on Friday. He notched the only two goals for the Badgers on Saturday. He possesses a natural scoring touch and that was evident this weekend.
—About midway through the third period I was surprised the game wasn’t very chippy—at least not as chippy as I expected a blowout to be between two hated rivals. A few minutes later Joeseph LaBate and Sam Warning mixed it up between the benches and then it was on. Over the next six minutes, tempers flared, cheap shots were dished out, melees ensued, penalty boxes were filled to max occupancy, and 15 penalties were issued. The ending was more fitting of a UND/Gopher game, but it was good to see some fervor rekindled in the Wisconsin rivalry.
“At the end of the game, I was proud of the way our guys stood up for each other and handled that situation,” said Travis Boyd. “It’s a rivalry game, I think that’s expected. A long-standing rivalry between the two of us, it’s the border battle. It just kind of happens.”
By the Numbers
50 Shots for the Golden Gophers; the first time they’ve hit that mark this season.
28 Penalties between the two teams. A 110 penalty minutes total.
30 Games since Christian Isackson last scored. Great to see the senior notch his first goal of the season tonight.
Quotable
“Now that we can’t play North Dakota, this is kind of the number one rivalry, especially with how it ended [tonight]. It’s kind of like a rivalry reborn. The last couple years we haven’t really had any games like that. It makes the games more fun to play in. I’m excited to go there in two weeks, get in front of their fans, and get another shot at them.” – Travis Boyd
Three Stars of the Game
No. 3 Travis Boyd (2g, 1a)
No. 2 Mike Reilly (3a)
No. 1 Sam Warning (1g, 1a)
What’s Next?
The Gophers return to the rink next weekend at the Xcel Energy Center for the North Star College Cup. Minnesota opens the tournament on Friday against No. 1 Minnesota State. They will play either Minnesota Duluth or Bemidji State on Saturday. The FOX Sports North network will broadcast all four games of the tournament.