Goalie Patterson: One point is better than none

Gophers coach Don Lucia said his team couldn't get that fourth goal on Saturday to put Wisconsin away. instead, the Badgers rallied to tie Minnesota 3-3 after a scoreless overtime.

Lucia said he was not down about the tie. "We were missing five guys [Saturday] and the guys came out and played their rear ends off," he said. "I was disappointed for our players to give up the goal with three minutes to go. But [the Badgers] made the play.

"We had some looks to go up by two, but we shot over the net. We'd like a few of those back. The guys played to the level they need to game in and game out for us to be successful. We are not good enough where we think we can go in and turn pucks over and play a haphazard game. We are not going to be successful with that."

THE TYING GOAL

Junior goalie Kent Patterson said he had the puck trapped under him. "He [Jordy Murray] just got his stick under there and just squeezed it under there," Patterson said. "I couldn't get much leverage.

"It is definitely disappointing not being able to come away with a win, especially when they scored that last goal in the closing minutes. But you have to be happy with getting points coming away from this weekend. One is better than none."

THE DON SAYS

* He agrees with Zach Budish's decision to have surgery on his right knee on Nov. 22. "That is the right thing to do," Lucia said. "He is obviously disappointed. We are disappointed for him. But you have got to look at the big picture. And [surgery] is what I told him he should do."

* On freshman forward Max Gardiner: "He played well [Saturday], playing a regular shift probably for the first time this year. We threw him in there right to the end because he had earned that right based on his play."

* On freshman defenseman Justin Holl: "[He] hadn't played in a while, came in and played really well. And I talked to Justin about being a better practice player. And I asked him after. I said, 'You are not a great practice player?' And he goes, 'No.' Well, that is something you have to learn to do because you gain trust. The coaches gain trust in practice and that is why he hadn't played. We wanted to get him back in. We don't play [this] weekend and I thought he came in and did a nice job as well."

* Bottom line: "We had some guys that weren't very good [Friday] and they responded the way I hoped they would. ... I thought it was a great game. I am sure the Big Ten Network enjoyed the game."

KANGAS HAS SUPPORT

"It wasn't Alex's fault," senior captain Jay Barriball said after the Gophers' 6-0 loss to Wisconsin on Friday. "We just got to play tougher. That kind of sums it up. We've got to get pucks in and get on their defensemen and we didn't do that and they took advantage of us."

"They played better than us. Anytime you get beat 6-0, the other team did something a lot better than you did."

Gophers coach Don Lucia also said Kangas was fine in the nets. "I don't think there were really any soft goals," Lucia said. "He didn't get a whole lot of help around him. [Our defensemen] were doing a much better job at that and [Friday] our group took a step backward.

"We didn't eliminate anybody in our own zone. We'd go in and they would make a pass and we would turn and follow the puck instead of eliminating our guy.

"It hadn't happened in the last three games [vs. St. Cloud State and two at Colorado College]. I don't know. Maybe when we got down by a couple, guys tried to do too much and then it just snowballs."

At the State Fair, Lucia had this prediction for the crowd: "If our seniors can have great year, then our team can have a great year. ... Our goal each and every year is to be in the NCAA tournament and take our swing. We have falled short of that goal the past couple years and the guys are really motivated to get back to the NCAA tournament and ultimately get back to St. Paul."

The Frozen Four is at the Xcel Energy Center in April.

There are six seniors, three are captains or assistant captains, but only two are having a great years so far.

Jay Barriball, the captain, has nine goals and three assists for 12 points in 10 games. His goal total ties him for the national lead. He also has five power-play goals more than any other Division I player. He is a plus-3.

Jacob Cepis has four goals and seven assists for 11 points, just one behind Barriball. He has taken 38 shots, only two less than Barriball. Cepis seems to draw a penalty each game and is a plus-1.

Patrick White, the fourth senior forward, has missed the past two games with the flu. Before that he played in five games, was a healthy scratch in three. He has one goal. On the plus/minus ranking he is zero.

Both senior defensemen Cade Fairchild and Kevin Wehrs have struggled at time. Fairchild is a minus-4 and was a minus-4 in one early game. He has one goal and four assists for five points. Only OK for an offensive defenseman like he is. He leads the team with 23 blocked shots.

Wehrs has the same line 1-4-5, is a plus-1 and is tied for the team lead in penalties with seven.

Goalie Alex Kangas is off to a rocky start. He is 1-4, with a 4.86 goals-against average and a 87.4 percent save percentage. Not good numbers but the Gophers defense does not seem to play well when he is in. He has given up seven power-play goals and Lucia has said he needs to be better in preventing rebounds..

MORE JAY TALK

Barriball on coming to Mariucci last season as a fan because he had knee surgery; "The atmosphere there on games days is incredible. I got the chills when I was walking into the games. There are people everywhere. You can kind of smell the arena. It's just a real special [place] with all the history in that arena, you got the All-Americans on the wall. It's the best arena around and it's so awesome to play in it."

THE DON SAYS

* On his unchanged coaching staff: "John Hill has been doing this a long time. He has been the constant over the years. Grant Potulny, this is his second year. He did a great job last year. He is a little bit green. Took to the recruiting end right away. But can really relate to the players because of his age, he just turned 30 years old.