SB Nation Minnesota - Gophers Hockey: Minnesota Sweeps Alaska-Anchorage With 3-1 Win Saturday
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2011-10-30T01:35:17-05:00
http://minnesota.sbnation.com/rss/stream/2285784
2011-10-30T01:35:17-05:00
2011-10-30T01:35:17-05:00
Gophers Hockey: Minnesota Beats Alaska-Anchorage 3-1; Sweep Seawolves To Take First Place In WCHA
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<p>With the year the Twin Cities sports and collegiate teams have had, it’s that much nicer to see one of them at the top of the standings.</p>
<p>Despite having their first four <span class="caps">WCHA</span> games on the road, Minnesota has won all four and the maroon and gold have been rewarded with sole possession of first place.The latest Gophers hockey victory, a 3-1 win over Alaska-Anchorage (3-4-1, 0-4-0 <span class="caps">WCHA</span>) Saturday night, was close as Minnesota (7-1-0, 4-0-0 <span class="caps">WCHA</span>) held onto an early lead and survived a late Seawolves charge.</p>
<p>The eighth-ranked Gophers dominated the opening period as they out-shot Anchorage 20-4. Goaltender Kent Patterson could have taken a nap during stretches as the team – especially the Kyle Rau, Nick Bjugstad and Zach Budish line- moved the puck at will in the Seawolves zone.</p>
<p>Budish was eventually rewarded with the game’s first goal 10:54 into the game as he buried home a Bjugstad pass. However, it was the only goal the Gophers could muster past Seawolves goaltender Rob Gunderson in the opening twenty minutes. Gunderson, who made 29 saves, stood on his head at times and kept Anchorage in the game.</p>
<p>The Seawolves were able to gain momentum in the second period due to self-inflicted penalties by Minnesota but Nate Condon scored 4:03 into the period to make it 2-0 Gophers on the team’s first shorthanded goal this season. Condon created the opportunity through skill and hard work as he beat two Alaska-Anchorage defenders to the puck and roofed the puck past Gunderson on a breakaway for his fourth goal of the year.</p>
<p>However, Minnesota once again gave Alaska-Anchorage three power plays in a ten minute stretch and it ended up being a turning point in the game. The third penalty, a hooking call on sophomore Erik Haula, was the straw which broke the camel’s back as freshman Sam Mellor scored on the power play to make it 2-1 Minnesota.</p>
<p>Mellor’s goal broke Patterson’s 104:33 shutout streak, which dated back to Sebastian Stalberg’s goal on Sunday. It also gave the Seawolves confidence as they won the majority of the puck battles against a tired Gophers squad and put 14 shots on net.</p>
<p>Alaska-Anchorage’s grasp on the game continued in the third period as the Seawolves played their best hockey of the weekend and looked like the team which knocked Minnesota out of the postseason last year. They created odd-man rushes for themselves, cut down the Gophers’ cycling and puck movement and forced them to shoot from the perimeter.</p>
<p>Everything was going well for Anchorage, but unfortunately for them, the same was true for Patterson. Although the Seawolves only had nine shots on goal in the third period, each one counted and the junior goaltender came up big for Minnesota.</p>
<p>“I was expecting that with <span class="caps">UAA</span>,” Patterson said. “They’re a good team in the third period; especially in their own home.”</p>
<p>Alaska-Anchorage forward Mickey Spencer, who scored against Minnesota in March, came closest to tying the game with a tip-in midway through the third period. His deflection fooled the goal judge but ended up hitting the net and going wide</p>
<p>In the end, Kyle Rau was able to put the game out of reach for the Seawolves as the freshman forward scored on an empty net in the final minute for his seventh goal of the season. The 3-1 final gives Minnesota their third sweep of the season and while it wasn’t pretty at times, Gophers head coach Don Lucia summed it up best after the game:</p>
<p>“We’re 4-0 on the road in the <span class="caps">WCHA</span> and I think that’s the key stat above anything else.”</p>
<p>Next weekend, Minnesota returns home to Mariucci to face the twelfth-ranked and very <strike>loved</strike> hated University of North Dakota. Friday’s game starts at 7 PM and is broadcast on Fox Sports North while Saturday’s game starts at 7:30 and is broadcast on the Big Ten Network.</p>
https://minnesota.sbnation.com/2011/10/30/2524355/gophers-hockey-minnesota-beats-alaska-anchorage-3-1-sweep-seawolves
Nathan Wells
2011-10-29T21:42:48-05:00
2011-10-29T21:42:48-05:00
Minnesota Versus Alaska Anchorage Saturday Line Combinations
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<p>Head coach Don Lucia makes no changes from last night after the Gophers’ 5-0 victory over the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves. Chris Student and Joe Miller once again are scratched (although they do get a nice trip out of the weekend, unlike Blake Thompson, Christian Isackson and Nico Sacchetti) while the usual lines remain intact and out of order.</p>
<p>Kent Patterson, coming off of his fourth shutout of the year last night, makes his eighth straight start between the pipes.</p>
<p><a target="new" href="http://lockerz.com/s/151525889">Minnesota Golden Gophers</a>:<br> <em>Forwards:</em><br> Tom Serratore – Travis Boyd – Nick Larson<br> Nate Condon – Taylor Matson © – Seth Ambroz<br> Kyle Rau – Nick Bjugstad – Zach Budish (A)<br> Sam Warning – Erik Haula – Jake Hansen (A)</p>
<p><em>Defense:</em><br> Ben Marshall – Mark Alt<br> Jake Parenteau – Nate Schmidt<br> Seth Helgeson – Justin Holl</p>
<p><em>Goaltenders </em>(starting goaltender in bold)<br><b> Kent Patterson</b><br> Michael Shibrowski</p>
<p>As a reminder, the game starts at 10 PM Central and can be heard on <span class="caps">ESPN</span> 1500 since there’s <strong>no TV</strong>. You can follow me throughout the game <a target="new" href="http://www.twitter.com/gopherstate">@gopherstate</a> in addition to <a target="new" href="http://www.twitter.com/sbnminnesota"><span class="caps">SBN</span> Minnesota</a>.</p>
https://minnesota.sbnation.com/2011/10/29/2524091/minnesota-versus-alaska-anchorage-saturday-line-combinations-october-29
Nathan Wells
2011-10-29T00:51:01-05:00
2011-10-29T00:51:01-05:00
Gophers Hockey: Kent Patterson Earns Fourth Shutout In 5-0 Win Over Alaska-Anchorage
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<p>After suffering their first loss of the season Sunday, Minnesota (6-1-0, 3-0-0 <span class="caps">WCHA</span>) rebounded by beating the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves (3-3-1, 0-3-0 <span class="caps">WCHA</span> ) 5-0 Friday night. Kent Patterson earned his fourth shutout of the season (and it’s still October) for the Golden Gophers while Erik Haula led the way with two goals.</p>
<p>Minnesota looked like they learned from losing to Vermont as the Gophers dominated play in the first period and had no issues moving the puck. However they were not able to get past Seawolves goalie Chris Kamal until sophomore Zach Budish set up Haula’s sixth goal of the season with 1:59 left in the period.</p>
<p>Kyle Rau made it 2-0 8:14 into the second period as the freshman buried a Nick Bjugstad rebound. Rau now has five goals (out of seven) on the power play and Alaska-Anchorage, who came into the game having killed 13 of their last 14 penalties, only went 1-3 Friday.</p>
<p>Defensemen continued to get into the goal scoring after spending most of the first three weekends shut out with Mark Alt and Justin Holl each getting their name on the score sheet. Alt scored his first goal of the season off of a howitzer from freshman Travis Boyd while Holl put the dagger into Alaska-Anchorage thirty seconds into the third period to make it 4-0 Gophers.</p>
<p>Haula finished the scoring by putting Minnesota ahead 5-0 with a laser from the right circle on the power play.</p>
<p>The Gophers were clearly the much better team Friday night and Alaska struggled to contain their offense. However, the Seawolves were able to create opportunities in the final two periods (and actually out-shot Minnesota 22-21) but Patterson and the Gophers defense stood tall. The blue line was especially great as they blocked multiple Anchorage shots and had no problems with gap control.</p>
<p>With a 5-0 win it’s hard to find negatives but Minnesota ended the game on a negative note. The Gophers looked to be playing disciplined hockey – which was needed after taking some questionable penalties in Sunday’s loss – but Minnesota gave the Seawolves three power plays in the final twelve minutes. Patterson stood tall but the stretches of undisciplined play need to be cut back.</p>
<p>It seems like every game features a ten minute stretch with three Minnesota penalties and while I don’t want to see the Gophers lose aggression, there’s no excuse for losing focus after leading 5-0.</p>
<p>That’s one of the only things holding back Minnesota but in the end, the maroon and gold improved tonight to 3-0 in the <span class="caps">WCHA</span> with three road victories after tonight’s 5-0 win. The Gophers have a chance to sweep Alaska-Anchorage – something which no one did last season – tomorrow night at 10 PM Central.</p>
<p>The game will be broadcast on <span class="caps">ESPN</span> 1500 and streamed <a href="http://pennatlantic.com/main.php?module=event-detail&eventId=20164" target="new">here</a>.</p>
https://minnesota.sbnation.com/2011/10/29/2522433/gophers-hockey-alaska-anchorage-kent-patterson-earns-fourth-shutout-in-5-0-win
Nathan Wells
2011-10-28T16:36:53-05:00
2011-10-28T16:36:53-05:00
Gophers Hockey: Revenge On Mind As Minnesota Travels To Alaska
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<figcaption>Nathan Condon celebrating a Gophers goal (photo courtesy of Paul Rovnak)</figcaption>
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<p>After suffering their first loss of the season on Sunday, the Minnesota Golden Gophers resume WCHA play against the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves Friday and Saturday night at 10 PM Central up in Anchorage.</p> <p>Is there a better way to rebound from your first loss of the year than travel thousands of miles and face the team which ended your season last year?</p>
<p>Probably. Traveling to Alaska has to be a pain in the you-know-what but regardless, that's exactly what the University of Minnesota hockey team (5-1-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) will be doing this weekend as the eighth-ranked Golden Gophers face the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves Friday and Saturday at Sullivan Arena. Minnesota looks to get past a 5-4 loss to the University of Vermont Sunday where the maroon and gold gave up four second-period goals and return to WCHA play against an always dangerous Anchorage team.</p>
<p>It's a danger the Gophers know all too well. The Seawolves (3-2-1, 0-2-0 WCHA) came into Mariucci Arena last year in the first round of the WCHA playoffs and swept Minnesota on their home ice. Sophomore goalie Chris Kamal, then a freshman, stood on his head at times as the Gophers lost 4-3 and 2-0.</p>
<p>In fact, Anchorage has won four of the last five meetings against the Gophers.</p>
<p>Despite that, the Seawolves can be beaten. Alaska-Anchorage was swept last weekend by Nebraska-Omaha and while they beat both the Mavericks and St. Cloud State in non-conference games (the Seawolves played both as part of the Alaska Gold Rush tournament), they are near the middle in most team categories.</p>
<p>This weekend's series likely looks to hinge on the always classic battle between offense and defense. Other than junior Mickey Spencer, no Alaska-Anchorage player has more than two goals this season while the Gophers have six players with more than two (led by freshman Kyle Rau's six goals). </p>
<p>However the Seawolves may have an advantage on the blue line. Although both teams have good goalies - junior Kent Patterson leads the nation in shutouts with three for the Gophers - the Seawolves have traditionally trapped their way to victory by forcing more skilled teams to take shots from the outside. If Alaska is going to win, they are going to need to find a way to shut down the potent Gophers offense as Minnesota has not scored less than four goals in any game this season.</p>
<p>That makes this weekend a good test for the Gophers as they re-enter WCHA play and face a slew of physical teams in the near future. Winning on the road in the WCHA is always difficult - in fact Minnesota's two wins in Duluth are the <i>only</i> WCHA road wins this season - so any points the Gophers get will be well-earned and go a long way to continuing this season's strong start.</p>
<p>And of course, getting some revenge from last season is always nice too.</p>
<p>Both games this weekend start at 10 PM Central time and <i>will not</i> be broadcast on television. They will however air live on ESPN 1500 and stream <a href="http://pennatlantic.com/main.php?tableName=event&fileName=results&recordId=&module=event-results&orderBy=&searchIt=yes&sport=102&month=0&day=01&year=2011&conferenceId=0&schoolId=0" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
https://minnesota.sbnation.com/minnesota-hockey/2011/10/28/2521447/gophers-hockey-revenge-on-mind-as-minnesota-travels-to-alaska
Nathan Wells