Gophers Hockey: Northeastern Makes The Most Of 12 Power Plays To Win 3-2

It's rare to see one team get twelve power plays in one night. It's rarer to see that team get three 5x3 penalties. What's even rarer is seeing the team which was that shorthanded go on and win.

That was the case for the University of Minnesota hockey team Saturday night, as the second-ranked Gophers fell to Northeastern (8-7-3, 4-7-2 Hockey East) 3-2 in the championship game of the Mariucci Classic. Minnesota (15-6-1, 11-3-0 WCHA) scored two shorthanded goals from Nate Condon and Taylor Matson but two 5x3 goals by Northeastern's Vinny Saponari and Garrett Vermeersch sandwiched by a Steve Qualier goal were too much to overcome as the Huskies went 2-12 on the power play.

The victory extends the Huskies' unbeaten streak to eight games in which they have gone 7-0-1.

Minnesota spent most of the opening period in the Northeastern zone and outshoo the Huskies 12-4 but couldn't get past Huskies goalie Chris Rawlings. Seth Ambroz had a couple chances in front of Rawlings, who made 31 saves and Joey Miller hit the post but Northeastern escaped the period tied at zero.

"No disrespect to the rest of the teams," said Huskies head coach Jim Madigan after the game. "I think [Rawlings] is the best goalie in Hockey East."

As great as both goalies were, the best save might have been made by Erik Haula. The sophomore forward dove in front of a backdoor shot to save Northeastern's best opening chance. Unfortunately, his actions also led to the Huskies' first goal.

Haula's hooking penalty 1:57 into the second period gave Northeastern 30 seconds with a two-man advantage - Seth Helgeson was in the box already for cross-checking - but the Huskies only needed 3. Vinny Saponari tied the game at 1 right off of the faceoff, bringing back the momentum to Northeastern after Minnesota's Nate Condon scored his second shorthanded goal of the year 55 seconds into the period.

The Gophers took four penalties in the first eleven minutes of the middle period but were able to kill them and keep Northeastern at bay. All that work ended up tiring out Minnesota to an extent and it showed on the second Huskies goal. Steve Qualier was unguarded on a turnover and was able to skate in from the half wall unguarded and shoot a backhander past Kent Patterson to give his team a 2-1 lead 5:38 into the second.

The lead allowed Northeastern to play conservatively and there were occasions when the Huskies had all five men in the slot. After scoring four even-strength goals last night against Niagara, Minnesota could not complete passes and there were not many tough even-strength saves for Rawlings to make.

"Northeastern is a fast team," Condon said when asked about the difference in even strength play from Friday to Saturday. "I felt like last night we had a lot more space to work and move around."

Despite the lack of even strength chances and undisciplined play, the Gophers gave themselves a chance to win in the third. Northeastern could not take advantage of Minnesota's march to the box, including a 34 second 5x3 opportunity and it took until there was one second left on another two-man advantage (the fifth Northeastern power play of the period) before Garrett Vermeersch scored the game-winning goal.

"We played so much shorthanded," Minnesota head coach Don Lucia said, "we couldn't get any flow going. I'm disappointed we didn't give ourselves a chance to win five on five."

In the end, that's the difference. Taylor Matson got the Gophers within one with his sixth goal of the season but with 17.9 seconds left in the game, it was too little too late. Minnesota gave themselves a chance to win but not many teams are going to win when they take twelve penalties and play undisciplined hockey. Getting back Nick Bjugstad and Kyle Rau next weekend will help offensively but all the offense doesn't matter if the Gophers are spending most of the game losing their marbles and taking bad penalties.

Not many teams are going to win when killing 12 penalties. Teams like Minnesota can kill four or five but regardless of a successful period of shorthanded play and two goals with a man down, good teams will eventually score on the power play.

And unfortunately that cost them a chance to win the Mariucci Classic for the first time in four seasons.

Minnesota plays Notre Dame next Saturday in the Hall of Fame Game at Mariucci Arena. Game time is at 7 PM and will be broadcast on BTN. For more Gophers coverage be sure to check out The Daily Gopher and follow me on twitter @gopherstate.

Minnesota vs. Northeastern Line Combinations

The only change in the Minnesota lineup from last night's 5-1 victory over Niagara is freshman Travis Boyd getting a chance to play for the injured Tom Serratore. Serratore was injured in the first period yesterday and did not return. His absence means Joe Miller moves from the right wing over to the left and Nico Sacchetti is slotted on the wing after playing center Friday.

Northeastern made one change to their Friday lineup with freshman Joesph Manno being replaced by sophomore Rob Dongara.

As usual, Kent Patterson is between the pipes for the Gophers.

Minnesota Golden Gophers Line Combinations

Forwards:

Sam Warning - Erik Haula - Jake Hansen

Nate Condon - Taylor Matson - Seth Ambroz

Nick Larson - Travis Boyd - Zach Budish

Joe Miller - Christian Isackson - Nico Sacchetti

Defense:

Seth Helgeson - Justin Holl

Ben Marshall - Mark Alt

Jake Parenteau - Nate Schmidt

Goalies (bold indicates starting):

Kent Patterson

Michael Shibrowski

Jake Kremer

Northeastern Huskies Line Combinations:

Forwards:

Ludwig Karlsson - Garrett Vermeersch - Vinny Saponari

Steve Qualier - Braden Pimm - Cody Ferriero

Rob Dongrara - Justin Daniels - Alex Tuckerman

Adam Reid - Mike McLaughlin - Robbie Vrolyk

Defense:

Antony Bitetto - Dan Cornell

Drew Ellement - Drew Daniels

Luke Eibler - Jsh Manson

Goalies:

Chris Rawlings

Clay Witt

Bryan Mountain

Tonight's game starts at 6:00 PM and is not being televised. You can follow me on Twitter for in-game hockey updates live from Mariucci @gopherstate and follow @sbnminnesota for the best in Minnesota sports.

Gophers Hockey: Minnesota Finally Gets Down On Friday; Beats Niagara 5-1

One of the questions entering this weekend for the University of Minnesota was who would step up in scoring without sophomore Nick Bjugstad (16 goals, 27 points) and Kyle Rau (12 goals, 22 points). After tonight's 5-1 win over Niagara (5-6-6, 4-2-5 Atlantic Hockey), the question might as well have been "who wasn't going to step up?"

Five different players scored goals for the Golden Gophers (15-5-1, 11-3-0 WCHA), led by senior forward Jake Hansen's goal and two assists, and the team bucked a trend of starting slow on Friday with their best opening performance since a 2-0 win against North Dakota November 4th.

They now face off against Northeastern, who defeated Princeton 4-3 in a shootout, for the Mariucci Classic title tomorrow.

"We wanted to start the second half right," said sophomore defenseman Nate Schmidt, whose two assists tonight gave him a nation-leading 22. "That was the biggest focus and we have to win Friday night and take it one period at a time."

That's exactly what they did. Instead of their normal slow Friday start, second-ranked Minnesota was ready to play Niagara in their first game in nearly three weeks. Two goals in the first 3:08 by Nick Larson and Jake Hansen gave the team a lead they would not let go.

"Our coaches keep talking about non-conference games," said Hansen. "We're [4-2-1]...and need to not throw [non-conference] games away."

Both first period goals were the product of hard work and getting bodies in front of the net for rebounds off of Purple Eagles goalie Cody Campbell. Larson scored off a shot from Jake Parenteau - his first point in 26 collegiate games -1:58 into the game while Hansen was in nearly the same place 68 seconds later. Minnesota continued their domination, out-shooting Niagara 17-7 in the first period, and they had more opportunities within 10 feet of Campbell, who made 27 saves, than the Purple Eagles had in total.

Niagara was able to create opportunities to get within one for most of the second period but could not find a way to get past Gophers goalie Kent Patterson despite a blown line change and the senior goaltender misplaying a lob pass that left an open net.

Erik Haula, however, put the game out of reach for the Purple Eagles late in the second period with the hustle and second effort that was missing on past Fridays. Haula batted his own rebound of a Nate Schmidt shot past Campbell for his tenth goal of the season.

"We weren't worried [about losing Rau and Bjugstad] because we had guys stepping up," said Haula after the game.

If that was not enough, Justin Holl scored his third goal of the season with28.1 seconds left in the second period to make it 4-0 Minnesota. With no one standing between him and the goalie, Holl pinched in and one-timed a cross-ice pass by Jake Hansen to drive the dagger into Niagara's chances.

Colby Droust replaced Campbell as the Purple Eagles' goalie in the beginning of the third which did not change their fortune other than finally breaking Patterson's bid for his seventh shutout of the season 2:23 into the final frame. The Gophers goalie, who made 20 saves, was unable to stop a wrister from Tyler Matthews after Minnesota finished killing a penalty and the junior forward scored his first collegiate goal in 59 games to make the score 4-1.

The lone top line player, Zach Budish, sent the crowd home happy with Culver's after scoring his fifth goal tapping in the result of great puck movement with 6:39 left in the game. A late goal by Taylor Matson three minutes later would have made it 6-1 but it waived off after a lengthy delay because of Seth Ambroz being in the crease.

Regradless, Minnesota now faces off against a Northeastern team which has not lost in its last seven games.

"[Northeastern] swept Notre Dame at home, they beat Michigan in their own rink," said Minnesota head coach Don Lucia. "They're a very confident team."

The Gophers, meanwhile, look to build some confidence of their own. However, they will have to do it without forward Tom Serratore. The sophomore forward left after the first period of tonight's game, forcing the team to play with 11 forwards. Coach Lucia would not give any information on Serratore's status but it's safe to say he's not 100%.

In the end, however, Minnesota rose to the occasion without Nick Bjugstad or Kyle Rau. With five different players scoring, the defense coming within an overturned goal of having all six defensemen having points and playing one of their better defensive efforts, the Golden Gophers as a team were able to step up when needed.

Minnesota faces Northeastern tomorrow at 6 PM for the Mariucci Classic Championship. The game will not be televised but can be listened to on ESPN 1500. Before that, Niagara and Princeton duke it out for the third place trophy at 3 PM. For more Gophers coverage, be sure to check out The Daily Gopher and follow me on Twitter @gopherstate.

Mariucci Classic Game 1: Northeastern Beats Princeton 4-3 In A Shootout

In the first game of the Mariucci Classic, Northeastern (7-7-3, 4-7-2 Hockey East) defeated Princeton (4-9-3, 3-7-1 ECAC) 4-3 in a shootout; however the game officially goes down as a 3-3 tie. Princeton came back from a goal down three times but ultimately couldn’t get the puck past Chris Rawlings despite having eight opportunities.

The Huskies will face the winner of Minnesota – Niagara tomorrow for the tournament championship.

What was looking to be a scoreless first period ended up tied 1-1 when both teams scored in the final minute. While Northeastern’s Cody Ferriero was in the box for charging, Braden Pimm scored his seventh goal of the season with 45 seconds left to give the shorthanded Huskies a 1-0 lead. However, Jack Berger evened things up with 4 seconds left to keep the Tigers in the thick of things.

The game remained tied at one until the third period when both teams scored twice, including three goals in a span of one hundred seconds. Northeastern had a couple late chances but in the end could not get past Princeton goalie Mike Condon, who made 38 saves in a losing effort.

Neither team plays in a conference which has a shootout – the CCHA is the only one which ends its men’s games with the charity contest – and it showed . Many of the shooters missed the net or were unable to get a shot off in their attempt. In fact, fifteen shooters went before Justin Daniels finally ended the misery with the first and only shootout goal.

(the Mariucci Classic is a tournament which needs a winner but if that’s any indication, the Big Ten Hockey Conference would be much better off without regular season shootouts when it starts.)

In the end, Northeastern finds themselves one step closer to the Mariucci Classic Championship and a date with either the Gophers or Purple Eagles.

Minnesota vs. Niagara Line Combinations

With Nick Bjugstad and Kyle Rau in Alberta playing in the under-20 World Junior Championships, Minnesota head coach Don Lucia has some holes to fill this weekend. With that, Nico Sacchetti and Joe Miller get another chance to play. Bjugstad and Rau's linemate, Zach Budish, finds himself playing with Nick Larson and Christian Isackson, who suits up in place of Travis Boyd.

In addition, Jake Parenteau returns to the lineup after being scratched in favor of Blake Thompson in the Gophers' previous game. As usual, Kent Patterson is between the pipes for Minnesota while Cody Campbell gets the nod for the Purple Eagles.

Minnesota Golden Gophers Line Combinations

Forwards:

Sam Warning – Erik Haula – Jake Hansen

Nate Condon – Taylor Matson – Seth Ambroz

Nick Larson – Christian Isackson – Zach Budish

Tom Serratore - Nico Sacchetti - Joe Miller

Defense:

Seth Helgeson – Justin Holl

Ben Marshall – Mark Alt

Jake Parenteau - Nate Schmidt

Goalies (bold indicates starting):

Kent Patterson

Michael Shibrowski

Jake Kremer

Niagara Purple Eagles Line Combinations

Forwards:

Scott Arnold - Patrick Divjak - Dan Baco

Ryan Murphy - Isaac Kohls - Marc Zanette

Giancarlo Iuorio - Chris Lochner - Ryan Rashid

Robert Martini - Mike Benedict - Tyler Matthews

Defense:

C.J. Chartrain - Kevin Ryan

Dan Weiss - Jason Beattie

Matt Williams - Kevin Albers

Goalies:

Cody Campbell

Chris Noonan

Colby Drost

Tonight's game starts at 7:00 PM and is not being televised. You can follow me on Twitter for in-game hockey updates live from Mariucci @gopherstate and follow @sbnminnesota for the best in Minnesota sports.

Mariucci Classic Game Time TV Schedule, Radio & More

Gophers Hockey: Minnesota Returns To Action In Mariucci Classic

Minnesota hosts the 21st annual Mariucci Classic with Niagara, Princeton and Northeastern. For more Gophers coverage, be sure to check out The Daily Gopher.