Looking at final national college hockey statistics is always interesting, especially when the Gophers appear at the top in so many categories.
Their defensemen had more points than any other team with 111, for instance, although that is a bit misleading because the Gophers played 43 games. Only Boston College and Bowling Green played more games, 44 each.
Harvard's defenseman average 2.85 points per game to lead the nation in that category, the Gophers at 2.58 points per game were fifth. Only six teams had blue line corps who averaged more than 2.50 points per game.
All six of the Gophers top defensemen were underclassmen and are expected to return. Sophomores Nate Schmidt (3-38-41) and Mark Alt (5-17-22) had more than half of the blue line corps' points.
The Gophers' defensemen had 89 assists, more than anyone else -- two more than Michigan -- but were only ninth in goals with 22.
Quinnipiac's blue-liners led the nation in goals with 32.
Scoring (Defensemen): Games G - A - P P/GM
1 Minnesota 43 22- 89-111 2.58
2 Michigan 41 19- 87-106 2.59
3 Boston University 39 30- 74-104 2.67
4 St. Cloud State 39 21- 81-102 2.62
5 Ferris State 43 21- 79-100 2.33
North Dakota 42 15- 85-100 2.38
7 Minnesota Duluth 41 19- 79- 98 2.39
8 Harvard 34 19- 78- 97 2.85
9 Wisconsin 37 30- 65- 95 2.57
10 Denver 43 20- 72- 92 2.14
Western Michigan 41 23- 69- 92 2.24
Source: collegehockeystats.net
