Gophers' NCAA chances much better after sweep of Beavers

PlayoffStatus.com, a site I just found out about recently, say the Gophers' fortunes are looking up after their sweep of Bemidji State last weekend:

Probability of winning the WCHA regular-season title and claiming the MacNaughton Cup, 78 percent

Probability of making the NCAA tournament, 72 percent ... it was 46 percent last weekend

Probability of winning the Final Five ... 22 percent

Can't vouch for how accurate PlayoffStatus.com is, but it's interesting to take a peek at what it says.

LAST IRON MAN IN NETS?

Senior Kent Patterson has played every minute of every game -- except when the Gophers pulled him for an extra skater -- this season.

The University of Minnesota Gophers media guide suggests John Lothrop might have done it in the mid-1960s. But the numbers are a little fuzzy.

Lothrop played in 26 games in 1963-64 when the Gophers' record was 14-11-0, that's 25 games. The numbers don't quite add up.

The next season, Lothrop played in 29 games and the Gophers were 14-12-2.

In 1965-66, Lothrop played in 28 games and the Gophers were 16-11-0.

Do you spot a trend? He played in one more game each of those seasons than the Gophers played.

According to Minnesota Daily story written several years ago, the longest goaltending streaks in Gophers history are:

80 games John Lothrop, 193-66

61 Robb Stauber, 1987-89

54 Kent Patterson, 2010-present

51 Alex Kangas, 2008-09