sports
Roman Augustoviz spends Minnesota's winters covering college hockey, specifically the Gophers, and other University of Minnesota sports. During the summer, he writes about the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, with a dose of U sports sprinkled in. Follow him on Twitter @RomanStrib.
Posts about Gophers
Gophers setting the national pace in nonconference games
Posted by: Roman Augustoviz Updated: January 2, 2013 - 12:17 AM
The Gophers are tied for fifth in the WCHA, but ranked No. 1 in the country. What gives?
Easy. The U of M has the best nonconference record of any team, 7-0-0. The only other unbeaten team in nonconference play is Minnesota State Mankato at 4-0-2.
Here are the teams with the best nonconference marks:
Seven wins
Gophers 7-0-0, WCHA ... one nonconference game left with No. 2 Notre Dame on Tuesday
Six wins (4 teams)
Union, 6-2-1, ECAC
Colgate, 6-3-1, ECAC
Quinnipiac, 6-3-2, ECAC
St. Lawrence, 6-4-0, ECAC
Five wins (2 teams)
Robert Morris, 5-1-1, Atlantic
RPI, 5-2-2, ECAC
Four wins (10 teams)
Minnesota State Mankato, 4-0-2, WCHA
Holy Cross, 4-1-0, Atlantic
Northern Michigan, 4-1-0
UMass-Lowell, 4-1-0, Hockey East
Miami, 4-1-1, CCHA
Yale, 4-1-1, ECAC
New Hampshire, 4-1-1, Hockey East
Notre Dame, 4-3-0, CCHA
Brown, 4-3-0, ECAC
Nebraska Omaha, 4-3-0, WCHA
ETC.
* The Gophers have played 19 games and have 17 left.
* Of the 11 opponents the Gophers have played, only three have winning records. Boston College, the team they routed 8-1on Sunday, is 12-3-1. That was the U's biggest win by far. ... The other two winning teams the U has played are Minnesota State Mankato (12-6-2) and Nebraska Omaha (11-8-1). The Gophers split with both those two teams.
*The WCHA started last weekend 1-4 in nonconference games, but picked it up and went 7-3 in its last 10. So, overall, the WCHA was 8-7.
The two big highlights were the Gophers' 8-1 win over then-No. 1 Boston College and Denver's 6-0 win over then-No. 6 Boston University. The Terriers had not been shut out in 125 games. ... Bemidji State almost beat then-No. 2 New Hampshire, too, before losing 3-2 in overtime despite Andrew Walsh's 33 saves.
Michigan Tech also had a good weekend, wining the Great Lake Invitational for the first time since 1980. The Huskies beat Michigan and Western Michigan by identical 4-0 scores. Freshman goalie Pheonix Copley had 70 saves in the two games. ... Minnesota State Mankato won the UConn Hockey Classic, beating Brown and Connecticut by the same 3-1 score. The Mavericks are 9-1 in their last 10 games.
* By the time this coming weekend is over, 10 of the 12 WCHA teams will have played 14 conference games -- or exactly half -- while North Dakota and the Gophers will have played only 12.
The two conference series are Colorado College at Nebraska Omaha and Wisconsin at Alaska Anchorage. ... If CC sweeps on the road, there will be a three-way tie for fifth place between the Gophers, CC and UNO. If the red Mavericks get at least one point, they will drop the Gophers from a fifth place tie in the standings to sixth place.
* Five conference teams have nonconference series -- all at home:
Holy Cross at North Dakota ... Holy Cross is part of a three-way tie for second in Atlantic Hockey
Northern Michigan at St. Cloud State
Providence at Minnesota State Mankato ... can the purple Mavs stay hot?
Western Michigan at Bemidji State ... the Broncos are third in the CCHA
Cornell at Denver ... the visitors are fourth in the ECAC
Haula's loss for any length of time would hurt
Posted by: Roman Augustoviz Updated: January 1, 2013 - 2:22 PMErik Haula had another good weekend -- until the end.
The junior second-line center from Finland was named the No. 1 star of the game on Saturday when the Gophers beat Air Force 4-0. He had a goal and an assists and seven shots on net.
(The No. 2 and 3 stars were two freshmen teammates Ryan Reilly, a little used forward, and Adam Wilxox, the workhorse goalie.)
In Sunday's game, the Gophers thrashed Boston College 8-1 and Haula had assists on the first two goals, his 16th and 17th of the season.
He also had six shots on net to tie for the team lead with Kyle Rau and Zach Budish.
Colleague Michael Russo talks about Haula's injury here. He believes Haula was slashed across the hands on Rau's third-period goal at 6 minutes, 22 seconds. No penalty was called on the play.
If Haula is out for a long period of time, that will be a major blow.
He is leading the team in points with 26, seven more than Nick Bjugstad and Kyle Rau, tied for second at 19.
He has nine goals, one fewer than Bjugstad. He has 17 assists, the most on the team.
And he keeps goalie's busy. He has 78 shots on net -- 10 more than the next Gopher, which is Bjugstad.
He is a plus-7, tied for fifth on the team, but only two off the team lead.
Haula also had a 14-game streak with at least one point.
The Gophers have been relatively injury-free. The only players who have missed much time are backup goalie Mike Shibrowski, and much of that time the U was on break for finals, and forward Sam Warning. Both had undisclosed injuries.
Haula gives the Gophers a bit of an edge. I remember interviewing him last April, before the Frozen Four, and he seemed upset that nobody was giving the Gophers much of a chance against Boston College.
BC, of course, won 6-1 but Haula came out strong in the rematch on Sunday.
GOPHERS NO. 1 IN ANOTHER POLL
The USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll came out today and the Gophers are also No. 1 in it -- as they were in the uscho.com poll released Monday.
The Gophers received 25 of a possible 34 first-place votes and had 501 points. They moved up from No. 4 to No. 1 after beating Air Force 4-0 and previously No. 1 Boston College 8-1 in the Mariucci Classic.
Their next opponent, Notre Dame, is No. 2. The Irish moved up from No. 3. The Irish received the other nine first-place votes and had 458 points.
The Gophers and Notre Dame play in a rare Tuesday night game next week. Their records are almost identical. The Gophers are 13-3-3, the Irish 14-4-0.
After beating BC, the Gophers are 7-0-0 against nonconference opponents and have only one nonconference game left: Notre Dame.
Gophers only Big Ten hockey team above .500
Posted by: Roman Augustoviz Updated: January 1, 2013 - 4:38 AMThe Gophers are the only future Big Ten team above .500 this regular season, which is about half over.
Here is a look at the six teams that will form the Big Ten Conference in 2013-14:
Gophers, 13-3-3 overall ... 6-3-3 in WCHA with 15 points, tied for fifth place with Nebraska Omaha ... Last game: Beat No. 1 Boston College 8-1 on Sunday, which enabled U to jump up in PairWise ratings to a tie for sixth.
Ohio State, 7-8-5 overall ... 6-3-3-1 in CCHA with 22 points (conference uses a different formula for points than WCHA) fourth place ... Last game: Only other future Big Ten team in PairWise ratings, at No. 25. ... Last game: Lost to Penn State 5-4 on Sunday at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
Penn State, 8-9 overall ... Nittany Lions are an independent ... Last game: Beat Ohio State 5-4 on Sunday in the Three River Classic. Former Gopher Max Gardner had three assists for PSU. ... This was the first meeting ever between these teams. Penn State is a first-year program on the varsity level.
Michigan, 7-10-2 overall ... 4-7-2-2 in CCHA for 16 points, tied for seventh place ... Last game: Defeated Michigan State 5-2 on Sunday in consolation game of the Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit. It's first time neither team was in championship game since 1981. ... Said Wolverines coach Red Berenson, in a uscho.com story: "I know it's not the Stanley Cup, but it's a good win for Michigan."
Michigan State, 5-11-3 ... 4-8-1 in CCHA for 13 points, ninth place ... Last game: Lost to Michigan 5-2 on Sunday in consolation game of Great Lakes Invitational.
Wisconsin, 4-7-5 ... 2-5-5 in WCHA for nine points, tied for 10th .... Last game: Beat Alabama-Huntsville 4-1 on Dec. 14.
Gophers should remember Boston College well
Posted by: Roman Augustoviz Updated: December 30, 2012 - 4:41 AMDo you remember the last time the Gophers and Boston College played? I do.
It was April 5th, in Tampa. I was sitting high up in the press area, elbow to elbow. The Gophers were playing well. They outshot BC 31-25, but were unable to score. I was thinking they were wasting their chance to win the game.
BC took a 2-0 lead late into the second period, then scored twice. It was 4-0 into the third. Oh-oh.
Gophers goalie Kent Patterson didn't finish the season especially strong. He needed to be super in the Frozen Four against the Eagles. He wasn't.
And BC won its 18th game in a row and the next night its 19th to win its third NCAA title in five years. The Eagles look like a team heading to another Frozen Four this season. They are ranked No. 1 and beat Alabama-Huntsville 5-2 on Friday in the Mariucci Classic to give coach Jerry York his record 925th win -- most of any college hockey coach in Division I.
But ronight they play the Gophers again. Should be a full house. BC is ranked No. 1 in the nation, the Gophers No. 4. To fire up the juices for the game, here is my account of the NCAA semifinal which ran in the Star Tribune:
TAMPA, FLA. - This loss hurt. A lot.
The Gophers returned to the national spotlight Thursday for the first time since 2005, which was their last appearance in the Frozen Four.
And they had the misfortune of running into college hockey's hottest team and goalie. Boston College won its 18th game in a row, rolling over the Gophers 6- 1 in the second national semifinal.
The matchup of two tradition-rich programs with nine national titles and 43 Frozen Fours between them looked intriguing and drew an announced crowd of 18,605 to the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Many left early. It was 4-0 BC after the Eagles scored twice within two minutes late in the second period.
"When you give a team like BC with such high offense two-on-ones and open nets, it is eventually going to break you down mentally," Gophers forward Jake Hansen said.
Hansen scored the Gophers' only goal early in the third period to make it 4- 1, but the hope-crushing Eagles answered 22 seconds later.
"We didn't quit," Hansen said, "but when you get down 6- 1 like that, it really just wears on you. It just hurts so bad."
Boston College, coached by Jerry York -- who will become the winningest coach all-time in college hockey next season -- expects to win Frozen Four games. This was York's 912th victory.
The Eagles won national titles in 2008 and 2010 and the top seed this year is one victory away from a third big, shiny trophy in five years. Boston College, in its 23rd Frozen Four, will play Ferris State, a first-timer, on Saturday for the championship. The Bulldogs, who had a late empty-netter, edged Union College 3- 1 in the first semifinal.
The Eagles (32-10- 1) took a 2-0 lead on goals by Steven Whitney in the opening period and by Kevin Hayes on a power-play early in the second period.
Then they took control when Chris Kreider and Paul Carey -- with 17 ticks left on the clock -- scored at the end of the period.
Hansen ruined Milner's bid for a third consecutive shutout with a goal from the blue paint at 1:26 of the third period.
Rally time?
Nope.
Carey's second goal of the game 22 seconds later made it 5- 1. Defenseman Brian Dumoulin's power-play goal was BC's last stake to the heart.
"We've been in basically every game we played in," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. "And I thought we were even in the game tonight, then late in the second period they scored those two quick goals and it was 4-0.
"That's a pretty tall mountain to come back [from]. But up until that point, I thought we deserved a little better."
Thursday's result was a disappointing end to a turnaround season for the Gophers. After finishing seventh twice and fifth twice in the WCHA the past four seasons, the Gophers won the regular-season conference title and advanced to their first Frozen Four since 2005.
They arrived in Florida on a promising 9-2 roll and ran into a team nobody has beaten since Jan. 20.
"One team is happy at the end of the year," Lucia said. "That's it. Everybody else is disappointed.
"It is always a bitter pill when you lose your last game, but that doesn't take away how much enjoyment we all had during the course of this season."
BOSTON COLLEGE 6, GOPHERS 1
GAME RECAP
STAR TRIBUNE'S THREE STARS
Parker Milner, Boston College: The junior goalie from Pittsburgh made several amazing saves and wound up with a total of 30.
Paul Carey, Boston College: The forward scored two goals, a backbreaker with 17 seconds left in the second period to make it 4-0 and the Eagles' fifth goal, 22 seconds after the Gophers' lone goal.
Steven Whitney, Boston College: The 5-7 junior right winger had the Eagles' first goal and had an assist on the game-winner.
Turning point
Junior Chris Kreider's goal at 17 minutes, 45 seconds of the middle period gave BC a 3-0 lead. game over. Milner has not given up more than two goals in the past 17 games.
By the numbers
18 Games Boston College has won in a row.
7 Seniors who were on the trip to Tampa with the Gophers.
BC vs. Alabama-Huntsville like Goliath vs. David, but don't expect upset
Posted by: Roman Augustoviz Updated: December 29, 2012 - 2:42 PMBetter hurry, there is less than two hours left to see history at Mariucci Arena.
No. 1-rated Boston College played the University of Alabama-Huntsville at 4 p.m. Saturday in the first game of the Mariucci Classic. And barring all the Eagles being stricken with the flu or them showing up a half-hour late for the game -- and the Chargers starting on time -- this should be a laugher.
UAH is probably the worst team in the country, BC is considered the best in the polls. So Eagles could Jerry York should get his 925th victory and become the all-time winningest college hockey coach. If it's closer than five goals, UAH will have a moral victory.
The Chargers are college hockey's version of the Washington Generals, the team that always loses to the Harlem Globetrotters. UAH has three wins, but two are against Division III Finlandia. Never hear of them? Me neither.
Last season the school told the team the program would be folded for this season -- and several key players left. Then it was resurrected and the team had to scramble to get games again. That is why it has only TWO homes games this season.
It is playing 20 other games against Division I foes on the road or at neutral sites. A big part of UAH's problem is that it is an independent and nobody wants a school not close to anybody in its conference.
BC is at the opposite end of the college hockey spectrum. York's Eagles have won three of the past five NCAA titles, including last season when they beat the maroon and gold 6-1 in the Frozen Fout semifinals in Tampa.
The Eagles are only 1-1-1 in their last three games -- a major slump for BC -- so that is why York is going for a milestone in a warm-up game to the Gophers vs. Air Force at 7 p.m. It is the mismatch of the season, no doubt.
It could get out of hand. Wonder if they have running time in the third period?
Mike Russo's story on the Mariucci Classic is here.
The Boston Globe story on BC is here.
But on to my predictions in games involving WCHA teams:
Air Force vs. Gophers at Mariucci, 7 p.m.: Both teams are well-rested after long breaks. The Don wants to see more from his top forwards and the Gophers could be looking past this game to BC. Shame on them if they are. The Falcons are loaded with Minnesotans and will make it interesting for a while. But ... Gophers win.
Ferris State vs. UMD in Estero, Fla., 3 p.m.: The Bulldogs got beat by Maine 1-0 on Friday, now they play a team that was in tne NCAA title game a year ago. UMD has been playing better lately and will bounce back ... Dogs win
Minnesota State Mankato vs. Brown, 3 p.m.: Mavs have won seven of eight. They are the surprise team of the WCHA so far. ... Mavs win
Michigan vs. Michigan Tech, 6 p.m.: Neither of these teams are living up to their expectations. But the Wolverines should be able toi exploit Tech's problems in the net. ... Michigan wins
Boston University at Denver, 8 p.m.: The Pioneers have not won a game in ages, it seems. They are in total free-fall. BU is one of the better teams in Hockey East and beat BC not long ago. ... Terriers win
One score is already in and the WCHA continues to take a beating over the holidays. Quinnipiac beat Nebraska Omaha 5-4. That makes the WCHA 1-3-0 since Thursday. Ouch.
The PairWise rankings, as far as the WCHA is concerned, could look ugly if this keeps up over the weekend.
As of this minute, North Dakota is No. 10, the Gophers No. 12 and St. Cloud State No. 14 in the PairWise ratings, which mimic how the NCAA fills out its postseason field. So if the NCAA tournament was starting right now, only the Final Five champion, UND and the Gophers would be in for sure and the Huskies probably in.
And no WCHA would get a No. 1 seed.
ADVERTISEMENT
recent posts
- U.S. power play too much for Czechs to handle
- Four state players lead U18 U.S. women's team to easy win
- Gophers setting the national pace in nonconference games
- Haula's loss for any length of time would hurt
- Gophers only Big Ten hockey team above .500
- U.S. advances to WJC quarterfinals with 9-3 rout of Slovakia
- U.S. loses another 2-1 game in World Juniors, this time to Canada
- Augustoviz: Gophers should remember Boston College well
- BC vs. Alabama-Huntsville like Goliath vs. David, but don't expect upset
- Co-captains lead St. Cloud State to win over RPI
- U.S. falls to Russia, the hometown team, in WJCs
- WCHA teams play in 15 games over next five days
- Germans not much of test for U.S.
- U's Reilly and Don's son, Mario, still on World Juniors team; Skjei cut
- Finns score four third-period goals, beat U.S. 5-1
- 13 Olympians coming to U.S. women's national camp in Blaine
- NAHL going to have team in Richfield starting in 2013-14
- Nebraska Omaha signs five, two from Twin Cities area
Post By Category
ADVERTISEMENT
inside the StarTribune
-
425 Portland Av. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55488
(612) 673-4000
- Company
- Subscriber Services
- Website
- Buy Ads
- Store
- Connect with Us
© 2013 StarTribune. All rights reserved.
StarTribune.com is powered by Limelight Networks
Newspaper Subscriptions
eEdition
RSS
Newsletters