One of the most encouraging signs for the Gophers hockey team this past weekend was the play of their penalty killers.

Wisconsin had the top power play in the WCHA -- although, in fairness it struggled at Nebraska Omaha the week before -- and the Gophers handled it well

The Badgers power play was 2-for-10 on Friday as the Gophers won 5-2. One of those Wisconsin power play goals was in the last minute, with the score 5-1, and the Badgers enjoying a 5-on-3 advantage.

On Satuday, the UW power play was 0-for-5. So it was 2-for-15 for the weekend. Maybe the Gophers' pk will move up from dead last in the WCHA this week. Nope, just checked, still last at a dismal 76.4 percent success rate but improving.

"This weekend we did a real good job with the penalty kill," Gophers coach Don Lucia said Monday on his weekly radio show on WCCO.

He said the team lost some of its top penalty killers from last season -- Tony Lucia, Mike Carman, Ryan Flynn -- and it has been an adjustment.

"At times, we have had issues with clearing the puck out of our own end," Don Lucia said. "But we've tried to settle on a smaller group" of penalty killers.

The Gophers power play, meantime, scored three goals on Friday (3-for-6) and one on Saturday.

Up next for the Gophers is last place Michigan Tech, which last Friday broke a 26-game winless streak by beating Denver 3-2 on the road.

"I was happy they won," Lucia said. "Michigan Tech, right from the get-go, has had a run of injuries. So I was happy for Jamie [head coach Jamie Russell], his staff and his kids.

"We have to prepare for Michigan Tech the same way we did for Wisconsin. Michigan Tech can come in here and beat us.

"Our record against the top four teams is not much different than our record against the bottom four. We can beat anybody and anybody can beat us."

THE DON SAYS * On 3-3 tie on Saturday: "W had our chances. We always play pretty well at the Kohl Center. ... This weekend was no different. We came out with great energy on Friday. ... Both teams were pretty exhausted at the end of the five-minute overtime." Six of the seven seniors on this team finished their careers 3-2-3 at the Kohl (assuming the Gophers don't play there in the first round of the WCHA playoffs, unlikely). Jay Barriball, the seventh senior, has a different record there because he red-shirted last season, played one season before anyone else did and sat out this past series with a knee injury. * On trailing only for nine minutes in this series: " The guys understood the importance of the weekend. ... They feel pretty good about themselves." * On being No. 18 in the PairWise ratings (top 13-14, maybe 15 teams get into NCAA tournament): "We've got four games left in the regular season (two at home this weekend vs. Michigan Tech, two at Bemidji State in their new rink), Our main focus is to secure home ice. And I don't think fifth place is out of reach. We've just got to keep wining and worry about [the PairWise] later." The PairWise rankings mimic with great accuracy how the NCAA picks its 11 at-large teams to field out its 16-team field for its postseason tournament. Five champions of conference tournaments automatically qualify. The Gophers are in sixth place -- the last home ice spot -- in the WCHA standings, one point behind fifth-place Wisconsin/ * On Kent Patterson's play since Alex Kangas had season-ending hip surgery: "He was playing pretty well when Kangas was available, too." * On Patterson playing every game: "He is a well-conditioned athlete. We will try give him extra rest during the course of the week. We want to make sure he is recovering. As a goalie you have to be mentally ready and mentally sharp for 2-1/2 hours," * On Cade Fairchild's who has seven points (1 goal, 6 assists) in the last three games: "We all felt Cade was an elite player. The last month he has been playing like an all-league player. He is playing his best hockey." * On shorter bench: "We played more three lines, than we did four against Wisconsin." * On Mike Hoeffel's fluke goal in Friday's game, it floated over the goalie's head like a little chip shot on a golf course: "The hockey gods owe us six or seven more of those." Last season the Gophers led the WCHA and maybe the nation in goals off skates against them." * On rash of recent NHL trades involving former Gophers, Alex Goligoski to Dallas, Blake Wheeler to Atlanta, etc.: " We always have pictures of players in the NHL on our walls. We'll have to get some new pictures. When I have the time, I do enjoy watching NHL teams with our former players on them."