As someone whose formative years came in the 1960s, Bob Motzko was exposed to the Western genre in movies and on TV. Given that, it's not out of the ordinary to hear the Gophers men's hockey coach use the phrase "riding high in the saddle" when describing a player who's exuding confidence.
Judging by the first four weeks of the season, it appears Motzko has a roster full of Wyatt Earps on his side.
The fourth-ranked Gophers on Wednesday night put the exclamation point on a seven-day, four-game road trip with a 4-0 drubbing of No. 5 Michigan to finish a sweep in Ann Arbor. With that, Minnesota has the following:
• An 8-0 record, the program's longest undefeated, untied start in 33 years.
• The status of never trailing for one second in any of those eight Big Ten games.
• A perfect penalty kill (17-for-17) and a power play operating at 29.0%.
• And a goalie in Jack LaFontaine who leads the nation in every major category among those who've played four or more games.
"Just to be around these guys — their work ethic, their camaraderie, how close they are — it's a special group," Motzko said. "I've been telling you that for a while, and maybe there's a little validation to it now."