TravisErickson
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Going into the Big Ten Tournament, the Gophers knew they’d have to win it all to extend their season. Despite a slow start against Ohio State on Friday, Minnesota rallied and scored four goals in the third to top the Buckeyes, 4-2. The Maroon and Gold face the Maize and Blue tomorrow evening for the title.
Quotes and Notes
Don Lucia
“Well, it's one of those games where I thought that we really wanted to win bad, sometimes maybe too bad, to begin the game, and it took us a while to find the rhythm. Some guys were fighting the puck a little bit, but we needed the one goal to kind of get us going. Obviously, only giving up the one, I really felt that it was one of those nights where we relied on three main guys to do most of the scoring and if we're going to win tonight, somebody else was going to have to step forward, and in the third period.
“Tyler's goal was the critical one to tie it one to one and when you score, you get some energy from that, and be able to come back. Vinni scored and Cammy getting a couple goals, so four guys that maybe haven't scored on a nightly basis, really came through in the clutch and it was obviously an important win for us, come back and win here at the Xcel Center and give us an opportunity to play for a championship tomorrow.”
On playing Michigan again for the championship:
I've always enjoyed playing Michigan. I mean, I'll go back to, you know, 20 years ago, 25 years ago playing them, and Michigan's teams, and Red [Berenson]. They play like we like to play. They want to get up and on the rink. They want to make plays. They obviously have tremendous high-end skill. We don't have a line like they have or a deep offensively as they are.
I figure if we're going to get to Saturday, we're going to be playing Michigan. I mean, they're just -- they're just too talented and as talented, I think, as anybody in the country. They're a real deep-forward group. It's going to -- we have to play exceptionally intelligent tomorrow. We can't shorten the rink. We can't take a lot of penalties. Everybody's going to have to play and involve because they're very deep.
Taylor Cammarata
On what clicked for you guys in the third period:
“I think starting like, halfway through the second period, you could kind of tell that Ohio State was getting a little fatigued, and then at the end of that period, we kind of had some momentum going and we kind of carried over right from the start of the third period and I thought we dominated the third period.”
Tyler Sheehy
On the team's mood going into the third period:
“Well I think we just, we knew what we needed to do in order to play tomorrow, so I think it was important for us to get a goal early and then feed off that. I think an early goal gave us a little bit of energy and then after that we were kind of rolling from there.”
By the Numbers
30 Points on the season for freshman Tyler Sheehy; 12 goals and 18 assists. Heck of a season for the one-time Ohio State commit.
4 Goals scored by the Gophers in the third period.
20 Dollar rush tickets for students to see the championship game. Pick up tickets at the box office and support the Maroon and Gold, students!
Three Stars
3 – Eric Schierhorn once again kept his team in the game with some impressive saves. He stopped 27 shots on the night.
2 – Taylor Cammarata netted two spectacular goals, his sixth and seventh of the season.
1 – Tyler Sheehy had a three-point night (1g, 2a).
What’s Next
Minnesota will try to defend its Big Ten tournament title tomorrow night against Michigan. A win will also give the Gophers an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The puck is slated to drop at 7:00 p.m.
Quotes and Notes
Don Lucia
“Well, it's one of those games where I thought that we really wanted to win bad, sometimes maybe too bad, to begin the game, and it took us a while to find the rhythm. Some guys were fighting the puck a little bit, but we needed the one goal to kind of get us going. Obviously, only giving up the one, I really felt that it was one of those nights where we relied on three main guys to do most of the scoring and if we're going to win tonight, somebody else was going to have to step forward, and in the third period.
“Tyler's goal was the critical one to tie it one to one and when you score, you get some energy from that, and be able to come back. Vinni scored and Cammy getting a couple goals, so four guys that maybe haven't scored on a nightly basis, really came through in the clutch and it was obviously an important win for us, come back and win here at the Xcel Center and give us an opportunity to play for a championship tomorrow.”
On playing Michigan again for the championship:
I've always enjoyed playing Michigan. I mean, I'll go back to, you know, 20 years ago, 25 years ago playing them, and Michigan's teams, and Red [Berenson]. They play like we like to play. They want to get up and on the rink. They want to make plays. They obviously have tremendous high-end skill. We don't have a line like they have or a deep offensively as they are.
I figure if we're going to get to Saturday, we're going to be playing Michigan. I mean, they're just -- they're just too talented and as talented, I think, as anybody in the country. They're a real deep-forward group. It's going to -- we have to play exceptionally intelligent tomorrow. We can't shorten the rink. We can't take a lot of penalties. Everybody's going to have to play and involve because they're very deep.
Taylor Cammarata
On what clicked for you guys in the third period:
“I think starting like, halfway through the second period, you could kind of tell that Ohio State was getting a little fatigued, and then at the end of that period, we kind of had some momentum going and we kind of carried over right from the start of the third period and I thought we dominated the third period.”
Tyler Sheehy
On the team's mood going into the third period:
“Well I think we just, we knew what we needed to do in order to play tomorrow, so I think it was important for us to get a goal early and then feed off that. I think an early goal gave us a little bit of energy and then after that we were kind of rolling from there.”
By the Numbers
30 Points on the season for freshman Tyler Sheehy; 12 goals and 18 assists. Heck of a season for the one-time Ohio State commit.
4 Goals scored by the Gophers in the third period.
20 Dollar rush tickets for students to see the championship game. Pick up tickets at the box office and support the Maroon and Gold, students!
Three Stars
3 – Eric Schierhorn once again kept his team in the game with some impressive saves. He stopped 27 shots on the night.
2 – Taylor Cammarata netted two spectacular goals, his sixth and seventh of the season.
1 – Tyler Sheehy had a three-point night (1g, 2a).
What’s Next
Minnesota will try to defend its Big Ten tournament title tomorrow night against Michigan. A win will also give the Gophers an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The puck is slated to drop at 7:00 p.m.
