Ignatius L Hoops
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http://www.startribune.com/will-red...hers-vs-no-1-st-cloud-this-weekend/468049703/
Will the Gophers have the leading scorer in the World Junior Championship available for this weekend’s home-and-home series against No. 1 St. Cloud State?
It’s possible, according to men’s hockey coach Don Lucia.
Freshman forward Casey Mittelstadt led all scorers in the world juniors with 10 points on four goals and six assists as the United States entered Thursday afternoon’s semifinal (3 p.m., NHL Network) against Sweden in the under-20 tournament in Buffalo, N.Y. Mittelstadt and Gophers teammate and defenseman Ryan Lindgren will play for either the gold medal or bronze medal on Friday, then fly back to Minnesota on Saturday morning.
“I texted both [Wednesday] to get what they’re thinking, and they both said they want to play [Saturday],’’ Lucia said. “We’ll see what their flight times are and when they get home on Saturday.’’..
...“It’s obviously the fatigue factor,’’ Lucia said. “They’ll be running on adrenaline this weekend.’’
St. Cloud State faces a similar situation, with forward Ryan Poehling playing and coach Bob Motzko serving as the U.S. head coach.
Lucia pointed to the fact that Mittelstadt and Lindgren haven’t been with the Gophers since early December as a factor in the decision, too.
“It’s going to be a little unique because guys are getting parachuted back on Saturday,’’ he said. “… If those two guys do play, they haven’t practiced with our group since Ohio State.’’
Mittelstadt, the No. 8 overall pick by the Buffalo Sabres in last year’s NHL draft, has been the talk of the tournament. The former Eden Prairie High School standout opened the tournament with two goals against Denmark, scored one against Slovakia, assisted on all three regulation goals in the outdoor shootout victory over Canada, had a goal and two assists against Finland and had an assist in the quarterfinal win over Russia.
Will the Gophers have the leading scorer in the World Junior Championship available for this weekend’s home-and-home series against No. 1 St. Cloud State?
It’s possible, according to men’s hockey coach Don Lucia.
Freshman forward Casey Mittelstadt led all scorers in the world juniors with 10 points on four goals and six assists as the United States entered Thursday afternoon’s semifinal (3 p.m., NHL Network) against Sweden in the under-20 tournament in Buffalo, N.Y. Mittelstadt and Gophers teammate and defenseman Ryan Lindgren will play for either the gold medal or bronze medal on Friday, then fly back to Minnesota on Saturday morning.
“I texted both [Wednesday] to get what they’re thinking, and they both said they want to play [Saturday],’’ Lucia said. “We’ll see what their flight times are and when they get home on Saturday.’’..
...“It’s obviously the fatigue factor,’’ Lucia said. “They’ll be running on adrenaline this weekend.’’
St. Cloud State faces a similar situation, with forward Ryan Poehling playing and coach Bob Motzko serving as the U.S. head coach.
Lucia pointed to the fact that Mittelstadt and Lindgren haven’t been with the Gophers since early December as a factor in the decision, too.
“It’s going to be a little unique because guys are getting parachuted back on Saturday,’’ he said. “… If those two guys do play, they haven’t practiced with our group since Ohio State.’’
Mittelstadt, the No. 8 overall pick by the Buffalo Sabres in last year’s NHL draft, has been the talk of the tournament. The former Eden Prairie High School standout opened the tournament with two goals against Denmark, scored one against Slovakia, assisted on all three regulation goals in the outdoor shootout victory over Canada, had a goal and two assists against Finland and had an assist in the quarterfinal win over Russia.