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Kangas to start, Schack attack to debut
Here is a look at the Gophers' line for Saturday. In a nutshell, three of the four lines are the same.
First line/ Jordan Schroeder centering Mike Hoeffel and Nico Sacchetti. Hoeffel had a goal on Friday, his fourth of the season. Line could of, should of had at least one or two more.
Second/ Mike Carman centering Tony Lucia and Taylor Matson. ... Same. Lucia had an assist on a power-play goal coming off a five-piont weekend.
Third/ Patrick White centering Joe Miller and Zach Budish. ... Miller is taking the place of Jake Hansen, a healthy scratch.
Fourth/ Nick Larson centering Josh Birkholz and Ryan Flynn.
Defensive pairs
First/ Aaron Ness and David Fischer. ... Ness moves up from second pair
Second/ Cade Fairchild and Brian Schack .... Fairchild moves down from first pair. Schack had a bad back at the start of the season, which set him back. Could have played last weekend vs. Alaska Anchorage but didn't. Prediction for Schack: two penalties, three big hits. ... Schack is taking the place of Sam Lofquist, a healthy scratch. Gotta sting Lofquist. He is from Somserset, Wis.
Third/ Kevin Wehrs and Seth Helgeson. ... Same.
If you look at the defensive pairings, each has a small guy with a big guy.
Goalie/
Kangas starting for fourth game in a row. A little surprising, but he did have 28 saves on Friday, including a handful of tough ones.
Three keys to the game:
* Slow down Boom Boom's grandson, Blake Geoffrion. Blake Geoffrion had two goals and seven shots on goal on Friday. His grandfather Bernie Geoffrion is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was on six Stanley Cup championship teams and was called Boom Boom because of his wicked slap shot.
* Move the puck and take smarter shots. Getting 30 blocked is ridiculous.Gophers had 7 minutes and 55 seconds of power play time and did get one goal but had only four other shots with the man-advantage. Find the open man, pleeeease.
* Somebody, anybody step up on offense. None of the current players has had a hat trick in a college hockey game. That's three goals in one game in case they have forgotten. Even a three-, four-point game by somebody would be nice against a team other than Alaska Anchorage.
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