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Gophers ripped apart day after Thanksgiving
I covered a winning Gophers team on Friday night. I watched the volleyball team beat Northwestern in three sets. The Gophers volleyball team is ranked No. 13 in the country and will host a regional at the Sports Pavilion in mid-December.
The team I cover most, the men's hockey team, is going nowhere fast. At least they tried in getting swept by UMD last weekend, 4-3 in overtime and 3-2. On Friday, by all accounts I've read, an imposter Gophers team showed up and a struggling Michigan team -- 0-5-1 in its last six games -- routed the maroon and gold.
Here's is a slightly edited account from the Gophers web site:
Minnesota suffered its worst loss since 1998 as the Gophers were blanked by Michigan 6-0 in the opening game of the College Hockey Showcase on Friday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
It was Minnesota’s worst defeat in Don Lucia’s 10-year tenure as head coach and biggest setback since a 7-1 loss to Colorado College on Nov. 6, 1998. The loss, which was Minnesota’s fourth straight, dropped the Gophers to 4-8-1 overall. Michigan had lost four straight home games and improved to 6-7 with the victory.
The Wolverines scored twice on the power play and also had goals in shorthanded, four-on-four and five-on-five situations. Minnesota had 24 shots on goal, but Michigan goalie Bryan Hogan stopped them all for the shutout as the Gophers matched a single-season school record with their fourth shutout of the season. Minnesota was also shutout four times in 1955-56 and 1926-27. (This is one record you don't want to break. Two seasons ago the Gophers were in a horrible scoring slump in the middle of the season but still seemed to score at least one goal a game.)
(This is one record you don't want to break. Two seasons ago the Gophers were in a horrible scoring slump in the middle of the season but still seemed to score at least one goal a game.)Michigan’s Carl Hagelin scored two goals as the Wolverines had 11 different players record a point and put 32 shots on goal. Alex Kangas made 26 saves for the Gophers. (The Wolverines probably wish this was a two-game series.)
The first period featured strong skating and back-and-forth hockey. Both teams hit the post in the early going with Mike Hoeffel ripping a shot of the crossbar for Minnesota. Michigan finally netted the period’s first goal as David Wohlberg brought the puck down along the boards and lifted a shot past Kangas into the upper corner from deep in the Gophers’ zone with 1:13 left in the period.
Michigan scored twice on the power play during a three-goal second period. Defenseman Brandon Burlon scored the first goal at 8:52 of the period when he blasted a shot from the left point and Louie Caporusso notched the second score at the 14:25 mark on a puck that deflected in off the stick of a Gophers’ defenseman. Hagelin finished the scoring with the first of his two goals just over two minutes later at the 17:45 mark.
Hagelin added a shorthanded tally at the 6:56 mark of the third period with a breakaway goal. The Wolverines penalty killers held Minnesota to 0-for-7 on the power play for the game. (That's terrible. PP looked as good as it has all season against UMD.) Michigan finished the night 2-for-7 on the man advantage. Ben Winnett finished the scoring with an even strength goal at 11:28 of the third period.
Hoeffel hit another post in the second period for Minnesota’s best scoring chance of the night. 
Defensemen David Fischer and Cade Fairchild each put three shots on goal. (Coach Don Lucia said he wanted his D-men to shoot more.)
Defensemen David Fischer and Cade Fairchild each put three shots on goal. (Coach Don Lucia said he wanted his D-men to shoot more.)The Gophers face Michigan State on Saturday at 6 p.m. (Central time) in East Lansing, Mich. Minnesota is 3-0-5 in the last eight meetings with the Spartans. (Throw past records out the window. This Gophers team seems capable of new lows.)
(I have urged patience and not pushing the panic button if you are a Gophers fan, that is is a long season, but the team has to compete, have some spunk. 6-0 is a bad loss, worst of the season in my mind. The team is a third of the way through and still struggling mightily.
(Every game it seems someone hits a post, an opponent's shot goes off a skate into the net and the team takes one or two bad penalties. It's one step forward, two back. That said, there is a ray of hope. 
After playing at Michigan State, the Gophers play Minnesota State Mankato home and home and at Michigan Tech before breaking for the holidays.
After playing at Michigan State, the Gophers play Minnesota State Mankato home and home and at Michigan Tech before breaking for the holidays.(Those two WCHA teams are playing worse than the Gophers. Maybe the U can get six, seven, eight points out of those series. If not, Gopher hockey nation will get pretty restless.)
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