The #1 Gophers (7-0-1 B1G, 18-2-3 Overall) outlasted #5 St. Cloud State University (7-3-2 NCHC, 12-5-4 Overall) tonight at the Xcel Energy Center in front of 14,388, in the second game of the North Star College Cup. Minnesota came out with a hard fought 4-1 win over a tough SCSU squad.
Here is what I saw:
- Gophers were outshot and outplayed in the first period, but Adam Wilcox stood tall in net. He was tracking the puck, and playing as well as I’ve ever seen. I get the feeling that he was loving all of the action in his end. Usually, I truly believe he gets bored down there, and then he’ll get a flurry, or the occasional breakaway, when he hasn’t been tested in a while. A goalie wants to have a few shots here and there to keep his head and body in the game. He was sharp tonight, boy! Best game I can remember for him in a long time.
- It’s hard for a homer like me to admit it, but I think St. Cloud State probably outplayed Minnesota the first couple of periods, and had them running around at times. But they didn’t outwork the Gophers. And Minnesota’s defense was strong. The Huskies were able to move the puck through the neutral zone with ease, but once they hit the Gophers blue line, things got a little tougher. As a team, the Gophers created a defensive shell, and Wilcox was stopping what did make it through.
- Minnesota extended it’s unbeaten streak to 11 games with the win tonight. Their last loss at home, a 6-2 defeat at the hands of Saturday night’s opponent, UMD. Time for a little payback.
- I’ve gotta throw in a non-hockey comment every once in a while, and tonight is no different. After watching SCSU, UMD & MSU put cheerleaders and mascots out on the ice tonight, you realize how good our cheerleaders and Goldy are. Goldy is the best mascot in college sports, and maybe all of sports. And when it comes to cheerleaders, it truly must be humbling for competing schools to put cheerleaders out there on the ice who are not nearly in the same class as the Minnesota hockey cheerleaders. You have Gopher cheerleaders jumping, spinning, twirling and doing all sorts of crazy tricks. And then you’ve got the other teams cheerleaders that are barely able to make basic moves. I’m not gonna be attending any skating competitions any time soon, but I do recognize, and appreciate the level of skill that they bring to the ice. It’s another source of pride for Gopher hockey. Tear.
Here are the post game comments:
Minnesota Head Coach Don Lucia:
Regarding the game…. “I thought Adam was our best player tonight, especially in the first period. We turned a few pucks over tonight. They’re a good team, they skate very well. And he was able to right us, and let us get going. Probably the reason we won the game was specialty teams. We were two for two on the power play, and they didn’t score on their power play. And the play of Adam. Those were the two areas that gave us the opportunity to win the game today. Our game was efficient. I think we can play better in certain area’s than we did tonight, but anytime you beat a good quality team like St. Cloud, you have to feel good about that. We just had to try and get the game going. First period we spent three quarters of it in our own zone. We weren’t’ very good coming out, and we turned pucks over, and that was evident the first five minutes of the game. Then we settled in and we got a little bit more physical. You can’t play cute against good teams. Their just going to ram it back down your throat. We did enough to win, but again, we have to be better tomorrow”
Regarding the power play….”We’re young. We have skill, but we have young guys. When you put them in those situations, they’re not going to be as comfortable as guys who have played two or three years of college hockey. That takes time, and we understand that. You try to put guys in the position where they can have success, and that’s part of us finding out more as a player what they can and can’t do”
Regarding Hudson Fasching…. “It was a great play by Hudson (Fasching) down low. He won the battle down below the goal line, and found (Travis) Boyd going to the net. Then we got a puck through to the net on the power play, and Hudson was there to clean up the rebound, which was good for him because he hadn’t scored a goal in a while. We talked about our team would go through a little bit of droughts, so it was good to see Hudson get a goal”
Regarding Jonny Brodzinski…. “He’s so strong. He’s got a heavy stick, and he can shoot it a ton. Wrong guy to have that many shots on goal, good thing he only got one tonight. They’re a good team, they skate well. They put a lot of pressure on you, they’re well coached… They could have easily won the game tonight with a couple of breaks”
Regarding playing at the Xcel Energy Center…. “It’s good. Anytime you can bring your kids into this facility. Theirs not a better one that you get a chance to play in. Anytime you get a chance to play here, I think that’s a good thing. We were disappointed when we came here last year and lost that one game in the final five, so it’s nice to get a win here. It’s been awhile”
Regarding UMD…. “They waxed us pretty good the last time we played em, 6-2. I didn’t care who we played, I just wanted to be playing at seven o’clock tomorrow, not in the afternoon. It was a good game, went into overtime. They’re power play scored a couple of goals tonight. They’re a good team. They’ve got a high skilled team. They’ve had a good year. I think they’re right around five hundred on the year, but I think they’re a better team than that, and they’ve proven that in the last month. They’ve beat some good teams, they skate well, and they can score goals, as you saw here tonight”
Travis Boyd:
Regarding the game…. “Yeah, St. Cloud State is a real good team. We knew it was going to be a good game going in, and I think we got a good game out of it. Luckily we were able to prevail tonight. We weren’t physically into the game at the start, so we wanted to start hitting their D, because they were starting to get up in the rush. So we wanted to limit that by finishing our hits. So we were definitely trying to get physical”
Regarding his goal…. “I think it was pretty big. We didn’t come out very strong, so maybe getting the first one maybe woke us up a little bit. I think we got better as the game went on, but we still can improve a lot moving forward into tomorrow”
Regarding the special teams success…. “It was definitely something we stressed over winter break to get going, because you’re going to need your special teams at the end of the year. So it’s good that it’s starting to roll now, which is helping our team”
Regarding UMD…. “We’ve gotta play a full game. We didn’t come out the way we wanted to in the first part of the game. We’ve gotta make sure we come out strong in the first part of the game tomorrow, really limit the turnovers, and get pucks behind their D. Last time we played them they, unfortunately, ran us out of our own building. So we’re looking forward to getting another shot at Duluth tomorrow, that’s for sure”
Adam Wilcox:
Regarding the game…. “I felt a little tired going in. First week of classes, so I didn’t get a lot of sleep. So I kind of took it easy in warm-ups. I knew St. Cloud was going to come pretty hard at the start. They average thirty five shots a game, as we saw on the pre-scout of em. I knew they were going to get shots, and have some good rushes in the first period, and they did. I thought our guys, throughout the first part of the game, we were trying to find our game. Towards the end of the game we were blocking shots, getting stick on puck, and covering guys in front. Our team did a really good job of that. It’s always nice to get the first goal. We always want to win the ten minute game and get the first goal. From there, I think once you get behind, especially with a good team like St. Cloud, it’s hard to play catch up with em. Especially if they get one or two goals. It was important for us to get that first goal. I think it was Boyder (Travis Boyd) had a big play there, and Hudson (Fasching) had a good play in the corner. He’s the man down there, so he started that, and Boyder finished it, so it’s good. It’s always nice to get shots in the first half, especially with a good team, kind of get in a rhythm. I thought our D did a really good job blocking shots. (Tommy) Serratore had a big one on the penalty kill. Marsh (Ben Marshall) had a few right in tight there, and Bish (Jake Bischoff) had a couple. They did a good job of fronting pucks. ”
Regarding Jonny Brodzinski…. “He’s good. It’s the battle of the brothers today. They’re both really skilled. He’s a really good forward. We had him highlighted on the pre-scout today. He’s a good skater. He got their only goal today. He was just jamming in front of the net. We looked out for him, but he’s a good guy”
Regarding the special teams success…. “I think we’re just kind of getting used to it. We lost a couple of guys in penalty kills last year, like (Nate) Schmidt in front of the net. I think we need to get our feet wet and get used to it. Our penalty kill wasn’t that strong at the beginning of the year, but it’s gotten better now. I think we’ve only given up a couple in the last ten games, or something like that. That was our bread and butter last year, special teams. So it’s nice to get that on track”
Regarding playing at the Xcel Energy Center…. “It’s one of those weekends where you have to look at it like, just like at the end of the year. We’re going to play Big Ten Championships here, and then the next week we’re going to hopefully be in the regional here. So, just like those games, you’ve gotta win two. You win Big Ten Championship, you win two. You win a regional, you win two. So, we’re treating it like that. It’s a little bit of an adjustment, it takes a little bit to get used to. Fortunately, we’ve played on a lot of NHL sized rinks. We practice a lot on our girls rink (Ridder Arena), because that’s NHL size. Especially down the stretch, all the big games, you know, playoff games, are going to be on NHL sized rinks. So I think we’re getting better at that. I think we’re really good on the big sheet, playing the puck. But we’ll get there. We’ve got really skilled D, and we’re really good at communicating”
Regarding being named first star…. “It’s always nice. I’m not too worried about it, but it’s a nice little acknowledgment that you played well, but it’s something I’m not too worried about”
The Gophers will take on UMD tomorrow night at Xcel Energy Center. Game time is 7:00 PM (Central), with the game being broadcast on Fox Sports North.
Here is what I saw:
- Gophers were outshot and outplayed in the first period, but Adam Wilcox stood tall in net. He was tracking the puck, and playing as well as I’ve ever seen. I get the feeling that he was loving all of the action in his end. Usually, I truly believe he gets bored down there, and then he’ll get a flurry, or the occasional breakaway, when he hasn’t been tested in a while. A goalie wants to have a few shots here and there to keep his head and body in the game. He was sharp tonight, boy! Best game I can remember for him in a long time.
- It’s hard for a homer like me to admit it, but I think St. Cloud State probably outplayed Minnesota the first couple of periods, and had them running around at times. But they didn’t outwork the Gophers. And Minnesota’s defense was strong. The Huskies were able to move the puck through the neutral zone with ease, but once they hit the Gophers blue line, things got a little tougher. As a team, the Gophers created a defensive shell, and Wilcox was stopping what did make it through.
- Minnesota extended it’s unbeaten streak to 11 games with the win tonight. Their last loss at home, a 6-2 defeat at the hands of Saturday night’s opponent, UMD. Time for a little payback.
- I’ve gotta throw in a non-hockey comment every once in a while, and tonight is no different. After watching SCSU, UMD & MSU put cheerleaders and mascots out on the ice tonight, you realize how good our cheerleaders and Goldy are. Goldy is the best mascot in college sports, and maybe all of sports. And when it comes to cheerleaders, it truly must be humbling for competing schools to put cheerleaders out there on the ice who are not nearly in the same class as the Minnesota hockey cheerleaders. You have Gopher cheerleaders jumping, spinning, twirling and doing all sorts of crazy tricks. And then you’ve got the other teams cheerleaders that are barely able to make basic moves. I’m not gonna be attending any skating competitions any time soon, but I do recognize, and appreciate the level of skill that they bring to the ice. It’s another source of pride for Gopher hockey. Tear.
Here are the post game comments:
Minnesota Head Coach Don Lucia:
Regarding the game…. “I thought Adam was our best player tonight, especially in the first period. We turned a few pucks over tonight. They’re a good team, they skate very well. And he was able to right us, and let us get going. Probably the reason we won the game was specialty teams. We were two for two on the power play, and they didn’t score on their power play. And the play of Adam. Those were the two areas that gave us the opportunity to win the game today. Our game was efficient. I think we can play better in certain area’s than we did tonight, but anytime you beat a good quality team like St. Cloud, you have to feel good about that. We just had to try and get the game going. First period we spent three quarters of it in our own zone. We weren’t’ very good coming out, and we turned pucks over, and that was evident the first five minutes of the game. Then we settled in and we got a little bit more physical. You can’t play cute against good teams. Their just going to ram it back down your throat. We did enough to win, but again, we have to be better tomorrow”
Regarding the power play….”We’re young. We have skill, but we have young guys. When you put them in those situations, they’re not going to be as comfortable as guys who have played two or three years of college hockey. That takes time, and we understand that. You try to put guys in the position where they can have success, and that’s part of us finding out more as a player what they can and can’t do”
Regarding Hudson Fasching…. “It was a great play by Hudson (Fasching) down low. He won the battle down below the goal line, and found (Travis) Boyd going to the net. Then we got a puck through to the net on the power play, and Hudson was there to clean up the rebound, which was good for him because he hadn’t scored a goal in a while. We talked about our team would go through a little bit of droughts, so it was good to see Hudson get a goal”
Regarding Jonny Brodzinski…. “He’s so strong. He’s got a heavy stick, and he can shoot it a ton. Wrong guy to have that many shots on goal, good thing he only got one tonight. They’re a good team, they skate well. They put a lot of pressure on you, they’re well coached… They could have easily won the game tonight with a couple of breaks”
Regarding playing at the Xcel Energy Center…. “It’s good. Anytime you can bring your kids into this facility. Theirs not a better one that you get a chance to play in. Anytime you get a chance to play here, I think that’s a good thing. We were disappointed when we came here last year and lost that one game in the final five, so it’s nice to get a win here. It’s been awhile”
Regarding UMD…. “They waxed us pretty good the last time we played em, 6-2. I didn’t care who we played, I just wanted to be playing at seven o’clock tomorrow, not in the afternoon. It was a good game, went into overtime. They’re power play scored a couple of goals tonight. They’re a good team. They’ve got a high skilled team. They’ve had a good year. I think they’re right around five hundred on the year, but I think they’re a better team than that, and they’ve proven that in the last month. They’ve beat some good teams, they skate well, and they can score goals, as you saw here tonight”
Travis Boyd:
Regarding the game…. “Yeah, St. Cloud State is a real good team. We knew it was going to be a good game going in, and I think we got a good game out of it. Luckily we were able to prevail tonight. We weren’t physically into the game at the start, so we wanted to start hitting their D, because they were starting to get up in the rush. So we wanted to limit that by finishing our hits. So we were definitely trying to get physical”
Regarding his goal…. “I think it was pretty big. We didn’t come out very strong, so maybe getting the first one maybe woke us up a little bit. I think we got better as the game went on, but we still can improve a lot moving forward into tomorrow”
Regarding the special teams success…. “It was definitely something we stressed over winter break to get going, because you’re going to need your special teams at the end of the year. So it’s good that it’s starting to roll now, which is helping our team”
Regarding UMD…. “We’ve gotta play a full game. We didn’t come out the way we wanted to in the first part of the game. We’ve gotta make sure we come out strong in the first part of the game tomorrow, really limit the turnovers, and get pucks behind their D. Last time we played them they, unfortunately, ran us out of our own building. So we’re looking forward to getting another shot at Duluth tomorrow, that’s for sure”
Adam Wilcox:
Regarding the game…. “I felt a little tired going in. First week of classes, so I didn’t get a lot of sleep. So I kind of took it easy in warm-ups. I knew St. Cloud was going to come pretty hard at the start. They average thirty five shots a game, as we saw on the pre-scout of em. I knew they were going to get shots, and have some good rushes in the first period, and they did. I thought our guys, throughout the first part of the game, we were trying to find our game. Towards the end of the game we were blocking shots, getting stick on puck, and covering guys in front. Our team did a really good job of that. It’s always nice to get the first goal. We always want to win the ten minute game and get the first goal. From there, I think once you get behind, especially with a good team like St. Cloud, it’s hard to play catch up with em. Especially if they get one or two goals. It was important for us to get that first goal. I think it was Boyder (Travis Boyd) had a big play there, and Hudson (Fasching) had a good play in the corner. He’s the man down there, so he started that, and Boyder finished it, so it’s good. It’s always nice to get shots in the first half, especially with a good team, kind of get in a rhythm. I thought our D did a really good job blocking shots. (Tommy) Serratore had a big one on the penalty kill. Marsh (Ben Marshall) had a few right in tight there, and Bish (Jake Bischoff) had a couple. They did a good job of fronting pucks. ”
Regarding Jonny Brodzinski…. “He’s good. It’s the battle of the brothers today. They’re both really skilled. He’s a really good forward. We had him highlighted on the pre-scout today. He’s a good skater. He got their only goal today. He was just jamming in front of the net. We looked out for him, but he’s a good guy”
Regarding the special teams success…. “I think we’re just kind of getting used to it. We lost a couple of guys in penalty kills last year, like (Nate) Schmidt in front of the net. I think we need to get our feet wet and get used to it. Our penalty kill wasn’t that strong at the beginning of the year, but it’s gotten better now. I think we’ve only given up a couple in the last ten games, or something like that. That was our bread and butter last year, special teams. So it’s nice to get that on track”
Regarding playing at the Xcel Energy Center…. “It’s one of those weekends where you have to look at it like, just like at the end of the year. We’re going to play Big Ten Championships here, and then the next week we’re going to hopefully be in the regional here. So, just like those games, you’ve gotta win two. You win Big Ten Championship, you win two. You win a regional, you win two. So, we’re treating it like that. It’s a little bit of an adjustment, it takes a little bit to get used to. Fortunately, we’ve played on a lot of NHL sized rinks. We practice a lot on our girls rink (Ridder Arena), because that’s NHL size. Especially down the stretch, all the big games, you know, playoff games, are going to be on NHL sized rinks. So I think we’re getting better at that. I think we’re really good on the big sheet, playing the puck. But we’ll get there. We’ve got really skilled D, and we’re really good at communicating”
Regarding being named first star…. “It’s always nice. I’m not too worried about it, but it’s a nice little acknowledgment that you played well, but it’s something I’m not too worried about”
The Gophers will take on UMD tomorrow night at Xcel Energy Center. Game time is 7:00 PM (Central), with the game being broadcast on Fox Sports North.
