Gopher Hockey Notes – at Vermont Catamounts – 11-23-2012

Posted on November 24, 2012 by

The Gopher Hockey team makes its first ever appearance at the Vermont Catamounts and the Gutterson Fieldhouse after playing them for the first time last season. The alma mater of great players like Martin St. Louis and Tim Thomas. Those are the only two names I know from Vermont but those are some pretty nice names! Both have won the Stanley Cup and have been major parts of their NHL teams for a long time!

Line Chart – Minnesota Golden Gophers

Left Wing – Center – Right Wing
Kyle Rau-7 – Nick Bjugstad-27 – Christian Isackson-26
Nate Condon-16 – Erik Haula-19 – Zach Budish-24
Jared Larson-23 – Travis Boyd-22 – Seth Ambroz-17
Tom Serratore-14 – AJ Michaelson-15 – Jake Parenteau-6
Left Defenseman – Right Defenseman
Brady Skjei-2 – Nate Schmidt-29
Mike Reilly-5 – Mark Alt-20
Seth Helgeson-4 – Ben Marshall-10
Goalie
Adam Wilcox-32
Ryan Coyne-31

Scratches: G-Matt LaPrade-30, D-Blake Thompson-3, D-Justin Holl-12, F-Ryan Reilly-9, F-Chirstian Horn-18
Injured: F-Connor Reilly-21, G-Mike Shibrowski-1, F-Sam Warning-11

Line Chart – Vermont Catamounts

Left Wing – Center – Right Wing
H.T. Lenz-11 – Brett Bruneteau-13 – Matt White-19
Pete Massar-16 – Jacob Fallon-17 – Chris McCarthy-3
Jonathan Turk-8 – Robert Polesello-29 – Kyle Reynolds-9
Anthony DeCenzo-14 – Kyle Mountain-10 – Tobias Nilsson-Roos-24
Left Defenseman – Right Defenseman
Nick Bruneteau-4 – Nick Luukko-25
Michael Paliotta-2 – Caylen Walls-26
Yvan Pattyn-15 – Anders Franzon-27
Goalie
Brody Hoffman-37

What is a Catamount? Is it a little saddle you would use to ride a cat? Noooo…that would be a cat-a-mount! A catamount is a medium sized or large cat, esp. a cougar. Sooooo…never tried to mount a catamount! I’ll leave the cougar comments to someone else! Umm…yeah.

For some reason, FSN doesn’t show lines for either team or let us know who’s in and out of the lineup. Do we need to watch pre-game for that?

Erik Haula is now an alternate captain for the Minnesota Gopher Hockey team!

All comments are from the point of view of the puck carrier or the offense unless otherwise noted.

DROP THE CLUTTERPUCK!!!

1st Period

  • WOW! This camera is close compared to most Gopher hockey telecasts. You can’t even see the boards on the near side very often.
  • PENALTY – Nick Bjugstad for Holding on Pete Massar at 4:03 of the 1st period – Vermont gets some sustained pressure in the Gopher zone and gets a couple chances in front of the net forcing Nick Bjugstad to commit a holding penalty to keep Pete Massar from getting at a rebound.
  • PING! POST SHOT! – AJ Michaelson hits the post with a wrist shot at 7:32 of the 1st period –Nick Luukko skates the puck out of the Vermont zone up the left boards and he tries to bank it off the left boards to get the puck around Travis Boyd but Travis gets his stick on it and waits for AJ Michaelson to enter the zone through the middle and passes him the puck. Michaelson skates to the front of the net and takes a snap shot that rings off the right post (to Brody Hoffman’s left) and you hear the crowd with the exciting “OH!”
    • Who doesn’t get excited at the sound of vulcanized rubber hitting Metallurgy? Huh? WHO? Nobody!
  • GOAL! – Seth Ambroz from Travis Boyd & AJ Michaelson at 7:52 of the 1st period – After Michaelson hit the post, the puck is cleared and dumped in to the Gopher zone. Jake Parenteau picks up the puck while going around his own net and makes a pass to AJ Michaelson at the left half-wall for quick one-time pass to Travis Boyd breaking out of the middle of the Gopher zone with Seth Ambroz coming up the right boards. As Boyd gets to the red line, he makes a pass to Ambroz and Vermont defenseman, Nick Bruneteau, tries to intercept the pass which creates a quick little 2-on-1 with Boyd coming in on Michael Paliotta. Paliotta takes away the pass and Ambroz goes in on Hoffman, looks like he’s going to shoot but he makes a move to his backhand, loses the puck but is fortuitous as the puck deflects off of Paliotta’s right skate and slowly goes over the goal line. GOPHERS 1-0!!!
    • Paliotta did the right thing in taking away the pass but he gave too much space to Ambroz to come in all alone without anyone checking him.
    • Jonathan Turk was back checking and then started to coast and never took anyone. If he skates hard the whole way, he can get back to cover either Travis Boyd or Seth Ambroz and disrupt the play.
      • Turk could tell him to take Boyd so he can move over and defend Ambroz.
    • Talking to your teammates is a huge part of the game and will help throughout the game and the whole season.
  • PENALTY – Yvan Pattyn for Interference on Tom Serratore at 8:11 of the 1st period –The Gophers are entering the Catamount zone on the left side and the puck is dumped in. Yvan Pattyn throws a body check on Tom Serratore and it doesn’t look like he ever had the puck. TWOOOOO MINUTES!
    • No replay of the play.
      • Is that FSN?
      • They have to have a replay of that, don’t they? What are they doing?
    • Then to compound that, they don’t even tell us what the penalty is for! WOW! I don’t like FSN coverage!
      • Go watch a broadcast on TSN and learn something about sports coverage.
  • NO GOAL! – Brady Skjei scores at 10:18 of the 1st period but the goal is called off right away –A good forechecking job in the right corner from Tom Serratore throwing a body check on Anders Franzon creates time for AJ Michaelson to get the puck back to Brady Skjei at the right point. Skjei skates in, makes a move to get around Tobias Nilsson-Roos and takes a wrist shot that might’ve been tipped by Tom Serratore. The official is calling goalie interference as the reason for no goal because Tom Serratore and Jared Larson were in the crease and interfered with the goalie’s ability to make the save.
    • Here’s the rule from the NCAA 2012-13 Rulebook
      • Rule 73 – Interference on the Goalkeeper
      • 73.1 Interference on the Goalkeeper – A player of the attacking team may stand on the goal crease line or in the goal crease, or skate through the goal crease, unless, in the opinion of the official, the player is physically or visually preventing the goalkeeper from defending the goal.
      • PENALTY—If a goal is scored, it shall be disallowed. Faceoff at the nearest neutral zone faceoff spot.
    • The key phrase would be “in the opinion of the official.”
    • Kevin Gorg says “the goalie is clearly impeded” – he was barely touched and had the opportunity to play the puck but that’s the rule and since both Serratore & Larson had their skates in the crease, the goal is called off!
    • Good job to get to the net and create some havoc but Serratore has to know where he is and not get in the crease. If he’s 6 inches forward, he’s fine and the goal counts.
    • Jared Larson is fine and wouldn’t have impeded the goalie in that instance even if Kevin Gorg never mentions that.
      • Is it hard to figure out that I’m not real fond of Kevin Gorg or FSN for the matter?
    • Good idea and keep getting in the goalie’s face to disrupt his ability to make the save.
      • Just don’t be in the crease while you do that!
    • It’s weird to not get a penalty for that but the rule reads “if a goal is scored, it shall be disallowed” so the “penalty” is having the goal taken away.
    • Does anyone else think that’s strange? If it’s a penalty, shouldn’t Vermont get a power play out of it?
  • GOAL! – Brett Bruneteau from Matt White & H.T. Lenz at 15:26 of the 1st period – Mark Alt wraps the puck around the left boards of the Gopher zone (to Adam Wilcox’ right) to Zach Budish but a good forecheck by H.T. Lenz forces a turnover that Brett Bruneteau eventually corrals and he takes a bad angle shot from the left of the face-off dot that is deflected by Brady Skjei’s stick and hits the back of the net. Skjei loses his stick on the deflection so he can’t check or keep Matt White from getting the puck behind the net. White skates the puck into the right corner, sees Brett Bruneteau in front of the net, and passes the puck in front for a quick one-timer into the net. GAME TIED AT 1!!!
    • As we see so often on a turnover, too much puck-watching by the defensive team and in this case, the Gophers.
    • Brady Skjei, Mark Alt & Erik Haula were all watching the puck while Bruneteau is finding a passing lane for Matt White.
      • None of them think to get down to try to block a pass to the front of the net either.
    • Brady Skjei was already behind the net and chasing White so he isn’t as much to blame on that breakdown.
    • When in doubt, cover a body/find a man! Don’t watch or chase the puck!
    • How do you train your team to not watch the puck in the defensive zone and especially after a turnover? That has to drive coaches crazy!
  • GOAL! – Kyle Rau from Zach Budish & Erik Haula at 18:39 of the 1st period – Jake Parenteau dumps the puck around the right boards and Erik Haula gets to the puck first behind the net. He wins the battle and skates the puck to the left of the net (Brody Hoffman’s right) and tries a backhand centering pass that is deflected onto the back of the Catamount net. Nick Bruneteau hits the netting with his stick to get the puck off the net and the puck bounces to the left in his skates. Zach Budish is there to make a quick pass to Kyle Rau at the right side of the net for a quick shot into the relatively open net. GOPHERS 2-1!!!
    • Tough play for Nick Bruneteau but it’s probably always a better play to wait for the whistle when the puck’s on the back of your own net!
    • Brody Hoffman doesn’t have much of a chance on that one as he’s not even sure where the puck is.
    • Kyle Rau knows where to be to score goals. He just finds open ice and will get to the tough areas as well!
    • Good forecheck by Erik Haula to get to the puck first and good awareness by Zach Budish to get the puck to Rau quickly when it comes off the back of the net!

2nd Period

  • What kind of adjustments will be made for both teams for the 2nd?
  • PENALTY – Matt White for Hooking on Nick Bjugstad at 0:42 of the 2nd period –A bad pass by Matt White to the skates of H.T. Lenz creates a turnover in the neutral zone. Nate Schmidt picks up the loose puck and passes to Nick Bjugstad at the center of the blue line for a mini-breakaway on the goaltender but he’s hooked from behind by Matt White.
    • I recently purchased an HT Lens for my camera! Haha! HEY! They can’t all be gems!
  • GOAL (POWER PLAY) – Zach Budish from Kyle Rau & Nick Bjugstad at 2:26 of the 2nd period – Erik Haula has the puck at the right half-wall, skates it in towards the slot and makes a pass to Kyle Rau at the right of the net. Rau takes the puck to the front of the net and tries to stuff it through Brody Hoffman. The save is made but the puck is still loose and goes to the left of the net where Nick Bjugstad shoots it back towards the goal and it goes off Hoffman to Kyle Rau who tries a backhand shot that goes off Hoffman’s toe and back out front to Zach Budish who shoots it right away and it goes over Brody Hoffman and through Michael Paliotta, who had gotten behind his goalie to try to stop the puck. GOPHERS 3-1!!!
    • Good power play time with great puck movement and the Gophers finally get it to go in on a rebound in front of the net.
    • Sometimes you just have to take the puck to the net and make things happen.
  • PENALTY – Nick Bjugstad for Interference on Michael Paliotta at 10:25 of the 2nd period –Nick Bjugstad is trying to create some havoc in front of the net and he pushes Michael Paliotta into Brody Hoffman with the puck nowhere to be seen for an easy interference call for the official.
    • Probably a retaliation for a good hit that Nick Bjugstad took shortly before he took the penalty.
  • GOAL! – Nick Bjugstad from Nate Schmidt at 12:30 of the 2nd period – A shot from Nick Bruneteau from the right point is saved off of Adam Wilcox’s left pad to the right corner where Nate Schmidt quickly shoots it high off the glass where Nick Bjugstad is coming out of the penalty box and he gets a breakaway on Brody Hoffman. Coming in from the left, Bjugstad takes a snapper that goes in just over Brody Hoffman’s glove to the upper right corner of the net. GOPHERS 4-1!!!
    • Adam Wilcox may get an assist on that goal!
    • I’m not sure Nate Schmidt made that play to get the puck out of the zone or if he knew Bjugstad was coming out of the box.
      • That’s an awesome play if he made that play as a pass!
      • It’s possible one of his teammates is telling him to send it deep right away!
  • GOAL! – Mike Reilly from Jake Parenteau at 14:56 of the 2nd period – Michael Paliotta tries a long pass from deep in his own zone that’s intercepted by Jake Parenteau at the center of the neutral zone. Parenteau skates the puck through the center and to the right of the Catamount zone. Caylen Walls poke checks the puck off Parenteau’s stick but Jake is able to retrieve the puck at the right half-wall and makes a cross-ice pass to Mike Reilly at the left point. Reilly takes the puck in, fakes a slap shot, makes a move to the left of Michael Paliotta and shoots a low wrist shot that sneaks under Brody Hoffman’s blocker arm into the left part of the net. GOPHERS 5-1!!!
    • That’s the 1st collegiate goal for freshman #5 Mike Reilly!!!
    • Seth Ambroz was in front creating a screen of the goaltender.
    • Great play by Jake Parenteau creating that scoring chance

3rd Period

  • PENALTY – Nick Bjugstad for Checking From Behind on Jacob Fallon at 3:52 of the 3rd period –Nick Bjugstad comes in on the forecheck and basically runs into Jacob Fallon from behind knocking him over and the official calls him for checking from behind.
    • That’s an iffy call there but with checking from behind, they probably would rather call them than not call them to show that you better control your body when hitting or running into an opposing player.
  • Injury? – Jared Larson at 7:55 of the 3rd period –Jared Larson is skating into the left corner of the Catamount zone on the forecheck, racing Nick Bruneteau to the puck. Larson wins the race, bends down to get the puck and gets hit up in the shoulders by Bruneteau and it looks like his head hits the glass. Larson reacts like he’s hurt but continues his shift.
    • Let’s hope that doesn’t turn into anything bad for Jared Larson
  • PENALTY – Caylen Walls for Roughing on Seth Ambroz at 12:33 of the 3rd period –Both Seth Ambroz and Caylen Walls are battling on the right boards but the official obviously thinks Walls was a little too rough on the play.
    • Probably should’ve just sent them both on that play although Seth Ambroz was more just defending himself when seeing the replay.
  • PENALTY – Zach Budish for Roughing at 14:43 of the 3rd period – Zach Budish with a little too much action after Brody Hoffman makes a save and he gets the 2-minute minor for roughing because of it!
  • Starting to get a little rough with the body checks in the waining minutes
    • Seth Helgeson looks like he’s trying to pick a fight.
  • TIMEOUT! – Gophers! –Kevin Gorg – “Why is the clock running?” – Sorry, I couldn’t help but laugh at that quote! He said it like he had no idea what was going on.
    • I don’t know if they set the clock for the timeout and started it or what but Mr. Gorg was lost at that moment.
  • PENALTY – Nick Luukko for Hooking on Seth Ambroz at 19:18 of the 3rd period – Nick Luukko takes a dumb penalty probably just to get at Seth Ambroz but who knows. There was no reason for it or at least no good reason.

Minnesota Gophers 5 Vermont Catamounts 1 is the final score!

The Gophers basically dominated this game as they should because they have more talent than Vermont. That’s not taking anything away from the Catamounts because they battled until the final buzzer and will come out tomorrow night with a lot of energy to see if they can come out of the weekend with a split of this non-conference matchup.

Gopher Hockey Recap from GopherSports.com – Gophers Take Down Catamounts 5-1 in Series Opener
Gopher Hockey Box Score from GopherSports.com –
Minnesota-Vermont Stats
Gopher Hockey Recap from UVMAthletics.com – Men’s Hockey Drops Opening Game of Series With #4 Minnesota

In other WCHA College Hockey Action,
“Home=”vs”, Away=”@””
Alaska-Anchorage tied @ Bemidji State 2-2
Minnesota-Duluth won vs St. Cloud State 2-1
Minnesota State won @ Wisconsin 4-2

Non-conference College Hockey action,
New Hampshire tied @ Colorado College 4-4
Yale won @ Denver 2-1 in OT
North Dakota won @ Notre Dame 2-1
and
Alabama-Huntsville lost @ Nebraska-Omaha 3-2

Bring The CLUTTER in the comments, on Twitter and on Facebook.

You’ve Been ClutterPUCKED!!!

Posted in College Hockey, Gopher Hockey, Hockey In Minnesota, News/Transactions, Wild Prospects | Leave a comment

Gopher Hockey Notes – vs Wisconsin Badgers – 11-17-2012

Posted on November 18, 2012 by

The Gopher Hockey team will need to make some adjustments on defense to get a win over conference rival Wisconsin tonight! Some defensive lapses cost them last night and they only came out with a tie. Expect a quick start once the puck is dropped at Mariucci Arena. The Badgers played a good, tough game last night and battled until the final buzzer. Expect the same kind of game tonight in Battle of the Border – Round 2!!!

Line Chart – Minnesota Golden Gophers

Left Wing – Center – Right Wing
Kyle Rau-7 – Nick Bjugstad-27 – Christian Isackson-26
Nate Condon-16 – Erik Haula-19 – Zach Budish-24
Jared Larson-23 – Travis Boyd-22 – Seth Ambroz-17
Jake Parenteau-6 – Tom Serratore-14 – Justin Holl-12

Left Defenseman – Right Defenseman
Brady Skjei-2 – Nate Schmidt-29
Mike Reilly-5 – Mark Alt-20
Seth Helgeson-4 – Ben Marshall-10

Goalie
Adam Wilcox-32
Ryan Coyne-31

Scratches: G-Matt LaPrade-30, D-Blake Thompson-3, F-Ryan Reilly, F-AJ Michaelson, F-Christian Horn-18
Injured: F-Connor Reilly-21, G-Mike Shibrowski-1, F-Sam Warning-11

Line Chart – Wisconsin Badgers

Left Wing – Center – Right Wing
Joseph Labate-16 – Jefferson Dahl-14 – Tyler Barnes-7
Morgan Zulinick-15 – Derek Lee-23 – Michael Mersch-25
Ryan Little-20 – Brendan Woods-21 – Keegan Meuer-12
Brad Navin-26 – Matt Paape-8 – Sean Little-18

Left Defenseman – Right Defenseman
Kevin Schulze-28 – John Ramage-55
Chase Drake-5 – Joe Faust-24
Jake McCabe-19 – Frankie Simonelli-27

Goalie
Joel Rumpel-
Landon Peterson-30

Injured: Mark Zengerle-

Not much for changes to the Gopher Hockey lineup other than Tom Serratore moving to center in between two defenseman playing forward. Good luck scoring when you’re on the ice with 4 DEFENSEman! Haha! Watch him score the game-winner now! The Badgers only change is in net with Joel Rumpel replacing Landon Peterson who did a good job last night stopping 41 of 43 shots on goal.

All comments are from an offensive point of view unless otherwise noted!

Drop the ClutterPUCK!!!

1st Period

  • The Gopher hockey team has come out with a ton of energy tonight!
  • Joel Rumpel is not controlling his rebounds very well. That could come back to haunt him.
  • Gophers are shooting the puck like they did last night (43 shots on goal) and trying to get some rebounds to pounce on!
  • PENALTIES – Coincidental Minors at 9:00 of the 1st period – Some after the whistle rough stuff gets one Gopher and one Badger in the box and we will have some 4-on-4 hockey for a couple minutes
  • * More room to skate on the big rink!
  • BIG HIT! Sean Little on Seth Helgeson at 11:49 of the 1st period – Seth Helgeson gets the puck behind his goal line and Sean Little throws a body check that Seth doesn’t look like he expected or at least expected it to be that rough and Seth hits the boards, loses his balance and then hits the ice.
  • SCRUM! – The gophers get a shot on goal that Joel Rumpel saves but leaves a rebound to his right at the left of the goal but the official whistled the play dead thinking the goalie had the puck.
  • * Kyle Rau takes the puck in the left of the Badger zone with Nick Bjugstad to his left and Christian Isackson a little behind him and to his right. At the top of the circle, he passes it to Bjugstad and he takes a hard wrist shot that Joel Rumpel saves up high and he thinks he’s trapped the puck in his chest but the puck drops down. The whistle blows but Kyle Rau still tries to play the puck by taking a whack at it which sets off the Badger defenseman Frankie Simonelli & Jake McCabe along with Tyler Barnes. McCabe is trying to grab Rau and Isackson is grabbing McCabe and Jefferson Dahl is grabbing Isackson They all start grabbling pesky Gophers and we almost have a full on brouhaha between Christian Isackson and Jefferson Dahl with Isackson’s helmet coming off.
  • * It ends up with Nick Bjugstad and Christian Isackson in the box for the Gophers and Jefferson Dahl and Jake McCabe in the box for the Badgers for 5-on-5 hockey!
  • * An active Kyle Rau is a good thing for the Gopher hockey team as they are 6-0 when he scores a point this season!
  • * What’s a rivalry without some scrums after the whistle? Boring, that’s what!
  • The Big Ten network might have the same problem as FSN with showing the teams get ready for the face-off, then go to a shot of the bench and miss the face-off before the go back to the game! Ughh!!!
  • PENALTY – Chase Drake for Interference on Justin Holl at 14:42 of the 1st period – Justin Holl is waiting to get the puck just above the right half-wall in his own zone and before it gets to him, Chase Drake throws a body check on him, knocking him down for a pretty easy call for the official.
  • Scoring Chance! – Kyle Rau gets chance at a rebound off the glass behind the goal for an open net but the puck bounces over his stick!
  • GOAL! (SHORT-HANDED) – Ryan Little from Keegan Meuer at 16:24 of the 1st period – A shot from the middle of the blue line by Mike Reilly is blocked by Jake McCabe and then swatted at by Frankie Simonelli and Nate Condon and the puck bounces to Keegan Meuer for a 2-on-1 with Ryan Little coming in on Mike Reilly. Meuer is coming in on the right with Little on the left. Meuer handles, pulls the puck back and passes it over to Ryan Little for a quick off-hand one-timer for the goal over Adam Wilcox’ blocker in the upper left of the goal. BADGERS 1-0!!!
  • * Mike Reilly never committed to either man. You have to take away the shot or the pass preferably taking away the pass and leaving the shooter for the goalie.
  • * Most goalies would rather face the shooter than try to move laterally across the crease for a quick shot one-timer.
  • * They won’t know where the one-time shot is going and they don’t have time to prepare for it.
  • * At least with the shooter they see the puck and can see the player’s stick which helps them predict where they will shoot.
  • * A case of a young defenseman learning on the fly. Believe it or not, this will make Mr. Reilly a better player in the future. Mistakes are opportunities to get better and improve our game.
  • Gophers showing good response after giving up the 1st goal and the lead.

2nd Period

  • Always interesting to see how the teams adjust out of the intermission.
  • PENALTY – John Ramage for Elbowing on Erik Haula at 0:20 of the 2nd period – A pass from Mike Reilly to Erik Haula at the red line for a tip-in dump sees John Ramage come in for a body check on Haula. Ramage jumps into the hit and hits Haula high for an elbowing call.
  • * Probably could’ve been called contact to the head too and might’ve been an ejection but the official leaves it as a 2-minute minor.
  • * Is that a result of ejections called during last night’s game? and not wanting to eject a Badger player in tonight’s game?
  • * Food for thought but probably a good non-ejection on that play even though Ramage jumped into the hit and even if Don Lucia doesn’t agree.
  • * Not a good play in the neutral zone to put the Gophers Power Play on the ice.
  • PENALTY – Justin Holl for Checking From Behind on John Ramage at 3:01 of the 2nd period – The puck coming around the right corner of the Badger zone to John Ramage waiting for the puck behind the net leaves him open for a body check from Justin Holl. Ramage turns ever so slightly as Holl is coming in for the check and it turns into a checking from behind penalty.
  • * Should that be 5 and a game?
  • * So hard to judge these plays but it wasn’t too bad so a 2-minute minor should be and was the call on the ice.
  • * An announcer that actually says its wrong to embellish to get a penalty in that situation is refreshing.
  • * This comes from one announcer asking if John Ramage helped himself by turning on that hit knowing pressure was coming.
  • * It’s just not right for players to put themselves in a position that could end up in a serious head injury that could affect their career and their life.
  • PENALTY – Nate Schmidt for Tripping on Derek Lee at 4:28 of the 2nd period – Derek Lee is coming out of the right corner of the Gopher zone after winning a battle for the puck. Nate Schmidt is falling down and his stick gets in Derek Lee’s skates tripping him as he goes to the net.
  • * The official has to make that call as it took away a scoring chance.
  • * Tough play for Nate Schmidt. He didn’t mean to do that.
  • * It doesn’t matter that it was an accident. You have to control your stick at all times.
  • BIG SAVE! – Adam Wilcox on Michael Mersch at 5:20 of the 2nd period – The Gophers can’t clear the puck and Michael Mersch gets it coming off the right half-wall with only Justin Holl between him and the goal. Justin Holl plays the pass giving Mersch the shot. Mersch snaps a shot to the upper right corner but Adam Wilcox gets his glove on it for a game-changing save!
  • * Are we seeing a legend in the making in Adam Wilcox? He’s taking the goalie position and running away with it.
  • * I’m not sure if it matters that Mike Shibrowski is hurt and Wilcox is the #1 by default.
  • * Competition makes players better so knowing he’s the man in net for the Gophers could have a different effect on him but he’s showing he’s ready to be that guy for the Gophers and answering the questions of what many people thought could be a weakness for the Gophers this season.
  • * That’s no slouch shooting the puck either. Michael Mersch knows how to put the puck in the net. He has 6 goals and no assists on the season so far and …
  • GOAL! – Nick Bjugstad from Christian Isackson at 7:14 of the 2nd period – The Gophers wrap the puck around the right side to Christian Isackson. He fans on the puck but it gets out of the zone and Jake McCabe stumbles on the point falling down giving Isackson a chance to get past him. McCabe gets in the way of Isackson but Nick Bjugstad sees the loose puck, gets to it and comes in on Frankie Simonelli and goalie Joel Rumpel. Simonelli is defending the 2-on-2 like a 2-on-1 so Bjugstad takes a slap shot that beats Rumpel to his right and goes to the left of the net for a TIE GAME AT 1!!!
  • * Did Isackson missing the puck cause McCabe to stumble because he didn’t expect to have a chance to get the puck?
  • * Frankie Simonelli could’ve played Bjugstad more straight up on that play as Brendan Woods had Jared Larson covered on the back check.
  • * Never let a player shoot if you don’t have to. Get in front of it, deflect it with your stick or block it with your body or at the very least, force the player to alter the shot and move to a worse angle.
  • * Especially on a slap shot!
  • * You have more time to get in front of a slap shot with the wind up.
  • * On second look on a replay, it looks like the shot beat Joel Rumpel under his catcher glove to the right part of the net.
  • * That’s how much of a blast it was. I couldn’t tell where it went after looking at it multiple times on a replay. WOW!
  • PENALTY – Seth Ambroz for Roughing on Jake McCabe at 16:03 of the 2nd period – Seth Ambroz throws a late body check on Jake McCabe sends him to the sin bin for 2 minutes!
  • * Dumb penalty with the puck gone already.
  • * Don’t put your team in that position of killing off a penalty because you wanted to get back at an opponent!

3rd Period

  • Nice to see some guys shooting backhand shots!
  • * Players should shoot the backhand more often but they love going to their forehand even if it means turning to get to their forehand.
  • * A backhand shot would be quicker than turning to your forehand and by the time you have turned, the goalie is more ready for the shot than if you’d have shot the backhand!
  • * A strong backhand will help your forehand because now you can go either way when coming in on an offensive rush and the defense can’t just defend one side. They have to defend straight up and not lean towards defending to your forehand. The same goes for a goalie.
  • GOAL! – Tom Serratore from Erik Haula and Zach Budish at 5:59 of the 3rd period – Zach Budish passes the puck to Erik Haula after blocking a shot from Kevin Schulze. Haula evades a hip check by John Ramage at the blue line and waits for Tom Serratore to come off the bench and gives him a pass as he enters the zone. Serratore has Schulze between him and the goal so he fakes a move to his backhand and quickly pulls the puck back to his forehand and takes a low snap shot that beats Joel Rumpel over his stretched out right pad for a 2-1 GOPHER LEAD!!!
  • * Shoot low! Low shots are harder to get to for the goalie especially if they are high enough to get over their stretched out leg pads!
  • * The quick shot caught the goalie by surprise too.
  • * Could the d-man have played that better?
  • * The play happened pretty quick but it was the only play Tom Serratore had and the Schulze should read that and take the shot away.
  • * Erik Haula creates the scoring opportunity by avoiding the body check by John Ramage creating time and space to make the right play.
  • * PENALTY – Joe Faust for Roughing on Jared Larsen/Seth Ambroz at 7:56 of the 3rd period – Jared Larson was in front of the net and Joe Faush came in and got a shove in with his glove at the head of Larson.
  • BIG SAVE! – Adam Wilcox on Sean Little at 9:48 of the 3rd period – A pass from Mike Reilly is just out of the reach of Nate Condon and  the Badgers get a 2-on-1 with Sean Little and Keegan Meuer. Little gets the puck off the Gopher turnover and heads up the left side. He comes in on Adam Wilcox and tries to go glove side but Wilcox gets his glove to the puck and makes the save.
  • * Ben Marshall played that well by taking away the pass.
  • * He also knew he had a couple back checkers that would get to Little.
  • * Little was coming from far left so he didn’t have a great angle on Wilcox and the goal.
  • PENALTY – Jake McCabe for Kneeing on Brady Skjei at 10:30 of the 3rd period – More like attempted kneeing or….nothing. Brady Skjei is skating the puck around the net (playing forward?) and Jake McCabe sees him coming and tries to make a body check on him that Skjei evades. McCabe may have stuck his knee out a little but that’s a basic reaction when a player tries to dodge the check.
  • * Bad call from the official in a 2-1 hockey game!
  • * Get out of the game, ref!!!
  • SAVE! – Adam Wilcox (or his stick) on Tyler Barnes at 13:51 of the 3rd period – A nice passing play between Derek Lee, Michael Mersch and Tyler Barnes gets Tyler Barnes a point blank shot on Adam Wilcox. Tyler Barnes gets the puck at the left of the zone and dumps it in towards the left corner. Derek Lee skates to it and makes a backhand pass to Michael Mersch in front of the net but the pass is a little behind Mersch so he makes a little backhand pass to Tyler Barnes, who’s following the play and going to the net. Barnes fires a quick shot that goes off of Adam Wilcox’ goalie stick out of play!
  • * That’s a great save and a game-saving play too!
  • * Does Barnes shoot blocker side because Wilcox has shown how good his glove side is?
  • PENALTY – Joseph LaBate for Interference on Erik Haula at 14:23 of the 3rd period – Erik Haula got the puck in the neutral zone and got rid of it. Joseph LaBate throws a late body check on Haula getting an interference penalty in the process. Oops!
  • * Obviously a bad penalty in the neutral zone in a 2-1 game.
  • PENALTY – Nate Schmidt for Boarding on Brendon Woods at 18:32 of the 3rd period – Nate Schmidt is coming to defend the play behind his goal line and and is hooked up with Joseph LaBate and he runs into Brendon Woods and the official calls boarding.
  • * Not sure what the official saw there. Almost as if he’s looking for something to call there.
  • PENALTY – Frankie Simonelli for Kneeing on Travis Boyd at 18:47 of the 3rd period – Travis Boyd won the face-off and Wisconsin never got complete control of the puck so a loose puck at the left-half wall gets Boyd to go for it and Frankie Simonelli tries to stop him from getting past him and sticks his knee out to stop him and gets called for kneeing 15 seconds after they went on the power play.
  • GOAL! (EMPTY NET) – Kyle Rau from Nick Bjugstad and Seth Helgeson at 19:37 of the 3rd period – Seth Helgeson wins the puck and brings it up the right half-wall then loses it. Nick Bjugstad comes in and just flips it up and over everybody leaving Kyle Rau to skate in on an empty net and seal the victory for the Gopher hockey team!

Good response by Gopher hockey after coming out with a tie last night. Tom Serratore DID score the game-winning goal and the Gopher hockey team is still undefeated when Kyle Rau scores a point! The Gophers make their first trip to play Vermont in school history next weekend on Friday at 6pm and Saturday at 6pm!

Gopher Hockey Recap from GopherSports.com – Gophers Close Out Border Battle with 3-1 Win
Gopher Hockey Box Score from GopherSports.com – Minnesota-Wisconsin Stats
Gopher Hockey Recap from UWBadgers.com – Minnesota Scores Twice in 3rd Period for 3-1 Win
Gophers Drop to 4 but Russo Doesn’t Care – Russo’s Rants – Minneapolis Star Tribune

In other WCHA College Hockey action,
“Home=vs, Away=@”
Michigan Tech won @ Bemidji State 2-1 in OT
Denver won vs Colorado College 6-2
and
North Dakota won vs Minnesota-Duluth 4-3 in OT

Bring the CLUTTER in the comments, on Twitter and/or on Facebook

You’ve Been CLUTTERPUCKED AGAIN!!!

Posted in College Hockey, Gopher Hockey, Hockey In Minnesota, News/Transactions, Wild Prospects | Leave a comment

Gopher Hockey Recap – vs Wisconsin Badgers – 11-16-2012

Posted on November 17, 2012 by

The Gopher Hockey team renews their rivalry with the Wisconsin Badgers tonight as the Battle of the Border sees its first matchup of the season! The Gophers are still learning what it takes to win in this young season as shown by road losses to Michigan Tech and tie games to Michigan Tech and Alaska-Anchorage. Will they take another step to becoming the team they can be tonight? It will be a physical game like all rivalry games. Wisconsin hasn’t played as many games having a couple bye weeks to start the season.

Line Chart – Minnesota Golden Gophers

Left Wing – Center – Right Wing
Kyle Rau-7 – Nick Bjugstad-27 – Christian Isackson-26
Nate Condon-16 – Erik Haula-19 – Zach Budish-24
Ryan Reilly-9 – Travis Boyd-22 – Seth Ambroz-17
Tom Serratore-14 – A.J. Michaelson-15 – Justin Holl-12

Left Defenseman – Right Defenseman
Seth Helgeson-4 – Ben Marshall-10
Brady Skjei-2 – Nate Schmidt-29
Mike Reilly-5 – Mark Alt-20

Goalie
Adam Wilcon-32
Ryan Coyne-31

Scratches: G-Matt LaPrade-30, D-Blake Thompson-3, D-Jake Parenteau-6, F-Chirstian Horn-18, F-Jared Larson-23
Injured: F-Connor Reilly-21, G-Mike Shibrowski-1, F-Sam Warning-11

Line Chart – Wisconsin Badgers

Left Wing – Center – Right Wing
Joseph Labate-16 – Jefferson Dahl-14 – Tyler Barnes-7
Morgan Zulinick-15 – Derek Lee-23 – Michael Mersch-25
Ryan Little-20 – Brendan Woods-21 – Keegan Meuer-12
Brad Navin-26 – Matt Paape-8 – Sean Little-18

Left Defenseman – Right Defenseman
Kevin Schulze-28 – John Ramage-55
Chase Drake-5 – Joe Faust-24
Jake McCabe-19 – Frankie Simonelli-27

Goalie
Landon Peterson-30
Joel Rumpel-

Injured: Mark Zengerle-

Christian Isackson moves back up to the first line and Zach Budish goes back to the second line. Ben Marshall moves back to his more natural defense position and Justin Holl moves up to the forward on the 4th line. Mike Shibrowski is hurt for the Gophers so Adam Wilcox is in the net for awhile now. He’s done well and was taking the lead for the #1 role anyways. Sam Warning is still out and Don Lucia said he’s “week to week” so we might not see him for awhile either. Wisconsin leading scorer Mark Zengerle is also out. He has  points ( G,  A) in  games for the season.

All descriptions are from an offensive point of view or they will be noted otherwise.

Let’s get this game going and Drop the CLUTTERPUCK!!!

1st Period

  • GOAL – Zach Budish from Nate Condon at 3:49 of the 1st period – Zach Budish takes a breakout pass from Nate Condon at the right half-wall in his own zone, skates to the neutral zone and dumps the puck in before the red line over defenseman Kevin Schulze. Budish flipped the puck so Nate Condon would have a chance to use his speed to get there before an icing was called. Condon got around Schulze and sees John Ramage going to the corner to try to throw a body check.  Nate Condon makes a quick stop to avoid the hit and tips the puck around Ramage, around the right corner and makes a backhand pass to Zach Budish for a one-timer that goes upper left over Landon Peterson’s right shoulder. GOPHERS 1-0!!!
    • John Ramage has to make sure he gets the man or the puck. He went for the body check and missed so now he’s out of the play.
    • In that situation, it’s better to take the puck because he can’t keep track of Nate Condon and the puck and the puck is a lot easier to control because the puck won’t change speeds or stop on a dime and go around him AND he had inside position on the puck so why go for the hit.
    • Bad coverage by the Badgers didn’t help either. Two guys go to defend the player in front of the net and nobody goes to Condon or picks up Budish trailing the play.
      • Morgan Zulinick went to the half-wall to be available for a pass from Ramage.
      • Budish just trails the play and nobody pays any attention to him so it’s easy for him to get open for a one-timer.
    • Whatever defensive scheme the Badgers are playing, I’m sure that wasn’t good execution of it.
  • GOAL – Michael Mersch from Derek Lee & Morgan Zulinick at 4:15 of the 1st period – A wraparound play gets Michael Mersch the puck coming up the right side of the ice through the neutral zone with Morgan Zulinick speeding up the center ahead of Mersch and Derek Lee going up the left center into the zone. Mersch dumps the puck past Brady Skjei, and before Travis Boyd gets to him on the back check, down the boards around the right corner. Morgan Zulinick gets to the puck first as it goes around the right corner. Nate Schmidt is there to defend him but not before Zulinick backhand tips the puck along the boards behind the net to Derek Lee, who had skated behind the net. When the puck was dumped in, Brady Skjei had turned and went to cover Derek Lee but instead of skating to the right of the net to cover Lee behind the net, he skated to the left and couldn’t get to him before he tipped the puck to the front of the net. Adam Wilcox gets his stick on the pass but Michael Mersch, who had curled in from the right boards towards the net, picks up the puck, makes a shot that Wilcox saves off his right pad but the rebound goes right back to Mersch for a 2nd try and he puts it over Wilcox’s right pad for a tie game only 26 seconds after the Gophers had taken the lead! GAME TIED AT 1!!!
    • Brady Skjei going the long way around the net gave Derek Lee the time and space to make the pass to the front of the net. If he goes to the right of the net or just stays in front of the net, that changes the whole play.
    • Why is everyone concerned about a player going behind the net? Let him go back there and leave him back there and cover the front of the net! There should always be someone covering the front of the net!
    • Travis Boyd kept going to the puck instead of staying on Michael Mersch. Cover your man!
    • Nate Schmidt does the right thing by going to Zulinick but he coasts instead of getting there as quickly as possible to get to the puck.
    • Miscommunication causes mistakes and all a team needs is a split second to take advantage of them.
    • Designed play to take advantage of how the Gophers play that dump-in? That’s what it looked like to me.
  • SAVE – Adam Wilcox on Derek Lee at 9:49 of the 1st period –Nate Condon takes the puck into the Badger zone but he loses it and Jake McCabe gets and quickly makes a pass off the left boards that gets past Mark Alt moving forward up the right side of the neutral zone to Michael Mersch at the Gopher blue line. Mike Reilly has to move over to cover Mersch which leaves Derek Lee open driving towards the net with Zach Budish back checking. Adam Wilcox is able to get over in time to make the save.
    • Condon has to get the puck in deep there. There’s no point in trying to dangle the D when it’s a 3-on-3! Dump it in and go to work!
    • It looks like Mark Alt is out of position there but he’s just going with the offensive rush. If the puck isn’t turned over he could be there for a chance at a rebound or the guy trailing the play.
  • PENALTY – Tom Serratore for Roughing on Derek Lee at 12:14 of the 1st period –Tom Serratore gets his hands up high for a hit on Derek Lee and is called for Roughing.
    • Keep your hands low when throwing a body check. Whenever you follow through with your hands high, it looks bad.
    • Same thing with following through with a hit your shoulder by lifting your elbow like a chicken wing. It makes the hit look like an elbowing penalty.
  • PENALTIES – Seth Helgeson for Roughing, Keegan Meuer for Roughing & Slashing at 14:12 of the 1st period –The puck gets tipped in front of the Gopher net from the left and Adam Wilcox quickly covers it but Keegan Meuer must see a loose puck and goes in jamming at the puck late which incites Seth Helgeson to tackle him and we have some after the whistle wrestling.
    • The official gives an extra two minutes to Meuer for a slash.
      • Was that for the attempt at the puck on Adam Wilcox? Peculiar.
  • PENALTY – Kyle Rau for Tripping on Jake McCabe at 16:13 of the 1st period – Kyle Rau is fore-checking and he gets his stick under Jake McCabe’s feet while McCabe tries to turn and he falls down. Unfortunate play that results in a Power Play for the Badgers.
  • PENALTIES – Coincidental Minors – Seth Helgeson & Sean Little for Roughing at 19:28 of the 1st period – Some more rough stuff after the whistle results in coincidental minors.

2nd Period

  • PENALTY – Frankie Simonelli for Tripping Kyle Rau at :37 of the 2nd period – Kyle Rau comes around the back of the net on his forehand with Frankie Simonelli trailing him and Simonellie gets his stick in Rau’s feet tripping him and taking away a scoring chance sending the Gophers to a 4-on-3 Power Play for 53 seconds.
  • GOAL – Erik Haula from Nate Schmidt & Zach Budish at 0:48 of the 2nd period – A face-off to the right (Landon Peterson’s left) is won by Travis Boyd to Zach Budish and he passes it back to Nate Schmidt at the right point. Schmidt fakes a slapper to get a Badger defender down then takes a snap shot that goes wide off the glass into the right corner. Erik Haula picks it up and curls around to come off the right half-wall looking at the net the whole time and waiting for Zach Budish to set up the screen and Haula takes a wrist shot that gets past Landon Peterson over his glove. GOPHERS 2-1!!!
    • Waiting for the screen made that goal happen. A lot harder to make a save if you can’t see the puck!
  • GOAL – Michael Mersch from John McCabe & Derek Lee at 5:06 of the 2nd period –Erik Haula doesn’t get the puck out of the zone at the right of the blue line. Morgan Zulinick picks up the puck and passes it to Michael Mersch to the right of the net. Mersch makes a one-time pass back to Derek Lee for a one-time shot that Adam Wilcox saves off his right pad. The rebound goes to John McCabe coming in from the left point. McCabe, a left-handed shot, catches the puck and makes a turnaround backhand pass to Mersch at the right of the net for a one-timer into the open net.
    • Another turnover that gets the Gophers scrambling on defense. Mark Alt knocked down Mersch right as he made the one-time pass to Derek Lee but then he doesn’t cover him enough to stop him from getting his stick on the puck when McCabe makes the pass through for the one-timer goal.
    • He also tries to stop the pass with his skate instead of his stick. COVER YOUR MAN or at the very least, COVER A MAN! Don’t just cover space!
    • If it hasn’t been done already, there should be a drill to train your team not to panic in these situations. If there’s a turnover, the first thing you should do is find your man, not just a man because if you just cover a man, one or more of your teammates could very well cover that same man.
    • Talk to your teammates on the ice. Tell them who you’re covering and/or who they should cover!
    • Chasing the puck is the worst thing you can do for the same reason as just covering the closest man, your teammates could be chasing the puck as well and then someone is open and the offense will take advantage of that.
  • PENALTY – Derek Lee for Holding on Ryan Reilly at 7:19 of the 2nd period –Ben Marshall brings the puck in the left of the zone and goes around the net to the right corner and the Gophers get a cycle going with Seth Ambroz, Travis Boyd and Ryan Reilly. Reilly winds up with the puck in the right corner. He fakes going towards the right half-wall and turns to go behind the net forcing Derek Lee to grab ahold of him for the Holding penalty.
    • The Gophers get a good scoring chance on the delayed penalty keeping the puck for a good 25 seconds after the penalty was taken.
    • Travis Boyd has a deflected pass hit him in the shoulder at the left corner of the zone. He gloves it down to the ice and skates the puck back to the left point and makes a cross ice pass to Erik Haula in the right corner. Haula makes a quick pass to the center for a Ryan Reilly one-time try that is saved by Landon Peterson and then the play is whistled down.
    • Haula was the extra-man on the play.
  • Adam Wilcox loves to play the puck but how many times does a goalie play the puck and he doesn’t actually make a good play on the puck?
    • He comes out of his net to play the puck in the right corner and plays it around the right boards. That’s great except the only player (or the first player) there is a Badger who, of course, takes a shot at the net.
    • Make a pass to one of your teammates or away from the other team or flip it out of the zone or STAY IN THE NET!
  • METALLURGY – Kyle Rau hits the post at 11:03 of the 2nd period – A 3-on-2 develops Seth Ambroz coming up the right, Nick Bjugstad at center and Kyle Rau on the left. Kevin Schulze is at the right boards defending Ambroz so he passes it to Bjugstad at the red line. John Ramage moves to defend Bjugstad so he passes the puck to Kyle Rau and Rau takes a snapper that gets by Landon Peterson but he’s saved by the bell or the PING of the goal post!
  • Gopher Analyst says, “That’s a terrible sound. I hate that sound…unless you’re a goalie or Wisconsin there.”
  • PENALTY – Joseph Labate for Checking From Behind on Erik Haula at 13:22 – MAJOR PENALTY w/Ejection –Erik Haula is trying to find the puck when he’s at the left boards by the blue line in his own zone and Joseph Labate comes in and hits him from behind.
    • Mike Eaves argues with the official that Haula was turning before Labate made the hit.
    • Kevin Gorg says the same thing.
    • Haula may have been turning but the end result was a check from behind and a bad one so Labate needs to adjust the angle he comes into Haula from or just go for the puck. If he goes for the puck there, he might end up with a scoring chance.
    • I wonder if Mike Eaves would feel the same way if it was his player that was hit with the same body check.
      • He’s probably arguing that it shouldn’t be a Major and an ejection.
  • The Badgers kill off the major penalty.

3rd Period

  • PENALTY – Mark Alt for Charging on Keegan Meuer at 5:36 of the 3rd period –A pass to Keegan Meuer coming up the center of the neutral zone is tipped in for a dump. Mark Alt makes a body check on Meuer and the official calls it charging.
    • I have to disagree with that call. I don’t see that as charging and it’s in the neutral zone and didn’t change anything about the game other than the crowd cheering and then booing!
    • Was it a make-up call to even up the penalty minutes? I don’t know but if that’s how the officials call games, that’s BS! Call the game fairly. If one team has five straight penalties, that shouldn’t mean the officials are looking to make a call on the other team.
    • Get out of the game REF! The idea is for the officials to not be a part of the game not to be one of the deciding factors because you give a team a power play on a make-up call or the other team is due for a penalty.
  • PENALTY – Tyler Barnes for Elbowing Contact To The Head on Tom Serratore at 6:11 of the 3rd period – MAJOR PENALTY and Ejection –On the penalty kill, Nick Bjugstad gets a chance and rips a snap shot off the crossbar. The puck goes off the glass behind the net and lands at the top of the left face-off circle. Tom Serratore gets to it on his backhand and gets elbowed in the head by Tyler Barnes.
    • Serratore went right off the ice into the locker room.
    • Serratore had his head down to find the puck as it just landed near him.
    • Does that call have to be called a major? I’m not sure but it’s because its a hit to the head.
    • Mike Eaves is irate on the bench!
    • Kevin Gorg doesn’t see it as intent to injure but it was a forearm to the head and called a Major Penalty, not a Match Penalty.
    • Here’s the rule as it reads in the current NCAA Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations:

Rule 45 – Contact to the Head

45.1 Contact to the Head – A player shall not make direct contact from any direction with an opposing player’s head or neck area in any manner (including, but not limited to, with the shoulder, stick, elbow, etc.).

PENALTY—Major and game misconduct or disqualification at the discretion of the referee.

    • There’s a video explaining the rules here – http://s3.amazonaws.com/ncaa/web_video/ice_hockey/2012/2012-13PreseasonRulesVideo.html
      • Contact to the head is covered from 2:05 – 8:38 of the video
  • Wisconsin kills off another Major Penalty!
  • Gophers had plenty of chances but just couldn’t get one by Landon Peterson.

Overtime Period

  • FREE HOCKEY!!!
  • A loose puck behind the Badgers net is grabbed by Kyle Rau and sent in front to Christian Isackson for a slapper but Landon Peterson makes the save!
  • BIG HIT! – Jake McCabe on Mark Alt at 3:57 of Overtime
  • As the game ends, Erik Haula had a chance but was bodied off the puck by John Ramage

This game got more physical as it went on! A body check was thrown as often as possible so we’ll see how Saturday’s game goes as both teams try to make some adjustments and get a W. The Gopher hockey team is probably frustrated since they had two 5-minute power plays and didn’t score a single goal. They had the momentum at the end of regulation and Wisconsin looked really tired. This one lived up to the rivalry as a game between two tough, talented teams that came to Battle for the Border!

Who will Bring The CLUTTER on Saturday?

Tell us what you thought of the game in the comments, on Facebook, on Twitter or on Google+

You’ve been ‘PUCKED by the CLUTTER!

Posted in College Hockey, Gopher Hockey, Hockey In Minnesota, News/Transactions | Leave a comment

2012 Super Series Recap – Game 1 – QMJHL vs Russia – 11-5-2012

Posted on November 6, 2012 by

Highlights from the Russian coverage! YEAH!

The Super Series is a 6-game exhibition hockey tournament held annually between a team of Russian juniors and all-star teams from the three leagues that make up the Canadian Hockey League (the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League.) It has been held annually since 2003.

* There’s some future NHL Stars in this game – Russia has Nail Yakupov, Mikhail Grigorenko and Andrei Vasilevski in goal while the QMJHL has Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Huberdeau.
* There’s plenty of draft picks on every team in the series along with plenty of players that are draft eligible for 2013.
* Russia has won four in a row against the QMJHL in the Super Series
* The QMJHL changed their approach to this series by going with a top-6 for their top two lines and role players for the 3rd & 4th lines.

Drop the CLUTTERPUCK!!!

1st Period
* Nail Yakupov has a great feel for the game. Off a rebound of a Andrei Vasilevski save, Nail grabs the puck and sees or knows Alexander Khokhlachev is breaking up the center and he makes a quick, soft pass that Khokhlachev can skate into  for a breakaway that ended with a save by Etienne Marcoux on a shot to his blocker side.
* The shot actually might have gone wide after looking at the replay.
* It’s cruel that Edmonton can get the #1 pick three years in a row and possibly have a forward line with all of them on it. Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupow on a line or at least on the power play could be fun for those Oiler fans.
* PENALTY – Karill Kapustin for Hooking at 3:33 of the 1st period – A bouncing puck gets past the Dillon Fournier giving Kirill Kapustin a chance but he’s too anxious to get around him and he ends up hooking him down for an easy call for the official.
* If Fournier doesn’t fall down, maybe that call isn’t made but Kapustin would’ve had a scoring chance out of that so the call pretty much had to be made
* BIG SAVE – Andrei Vasilevski on Cedric Paquette at 5:15 of the 1st period – A hit in the neutral zone leaves a loose puck for Anthony Manta to pick up heading into the left of the Russia zone for a 2-on-1 on the power play. Manta makes a pass to Cedric Paquette for a point-blank shot that Andrei Vasilevski saves but leaves a rebound. Paquette gets to that too but Vasilevski saves that as well.
* BIG HIT – Brent Andrews on Alexei Vasilevski at 8:45 of the 1st period – A slow dump in goes to Andrei Vasilevski. Andrei shovels it to his older brother Alexei Vasilevskii to the right of the net. Alexei goes behind the net and doesn’t see Brent Andrews coming. “Alexei, meet Brent! Alexei, meet the ice!” BOOM!!!
* GOAL – Mikhail Grigorenko from Anton Zlobin & Valentin Zykov at 9:45 of the 1st period – A bad drop pass by Nathan McKinnon coming up the right side turns into a quick transition and a 3-on-1 for the Russians. The drop pass was Ryan Culkin but it was in his feet and the puck got by him and Valentin Zykov was there to pick it up and quickly pass it up to Anton Zlobin going up the left side. Defenseman Xavier Ouellet tried to take away the pass but it got through to Mikhail Grigorenko with enough time for his to catch the pass and shoot it blocker side by Etienne Marcoux. RUSSIA 1-0!!!
* Xavier Ouellet might not have seen Grigorenko or he saw Jean-Sebastien Dea back checking and thought he’d get there to cover him but Ouellet probably should try to take away the pass a little more there.
* Defenseman Ryan Culkin joined in the offensive attack and Jean-Sebastien Dea didn’t cover for his d-man
* The drop pass has its place but it can turn into offense for the opposition more often than not.
* GOAL – Nail Yakupov unassisted at 10:04 of the 1st period – A poor clearing attempt by Ryan Tesink is sent up the middle of the ice where Nail Yakupov intercepts it and has the time to back up and take a low slap shot to the low left corner of the net. RUSSIA 2-0!!!
* The puck might not have left the ice on that shot which shows everyone that a low shot properly placed is a tough save for any goalie.
* Horrible attempt at clearing the zone. Never a great idea to go up the middle to clear the zone or pass through the middle while breaking out. If you do, it better be a hard pass or clearing attempt.
* PENALTY – Mikhail Naumenkov for Boarding on Francis Beauvillier at 13:53 of the 1st period – Francis Beauvillier is in the right corner of the Russian zone and he’s protecting the puck with his body and Mikhail Naumenkov hits him high for a boarding penalty.
* It wasn’t too bad of a hit and probably could’ve gone either way.
* PENALTY – Charles Hudon for Slashing on Nikita Nesterov at 17:26 of the 1st period – After some offense from the QMJHL team, the puck goes into the left corner to Nikita Nesterov and Charles Hudon reaches and slashes Nesterov in the forearm. Nesterov reacted to the slash making the call easy for the official.
* If Nesterov doesn’t react, maybe the call isn’t made? Not sure and not sure if it was a real reaction or a way to try to get the penalty called.
* Most of the time those are probably legitimate reactions and not an embellishment to draw a penalty. I hope players aren’t doing that on purpose even if it happens in their defensive zone.
* BIG SAVE – Andrei Vasilevski on Jean-Sebastien Dea at 19:55 of the 1st period – Jonathan Huberdeau wins a battle in the left corner of the Russian zone leaving the puck available for Jean-Sebastien Dea to pass it out front to Nathan MacKinnon waiting in front of the net. MacKinnon passes it to the right of the net where Dea had come around the net for a backhand shot to a mostly open net but a fully stretched out Andrei Vasilevski gets a piece of the shot with his glove to make a huge save at the end of the 1st period.
* Not sure if that was a pass by Nathan MacKinnon or an attempted shot that was deflected. It appears he tries to get the puck over the Dea so I’m going with it being a pass.
* Great vision to see Dea coming around the net for what would be a goal most of the time.

2nd Period
* PENALTIES – TWO PENALTIES ON ONE PLAY!!! WOW! – Kirill Dyakov for Hooking Jonathan Huberdeau & Andrei Sigarev for Checking From Behind on Jean-Sebastien Dea at 1:32 of the 2nd period – A good cycle in the offensive zone with Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Huberdeau and Jean-Sebastien Dea forces Russia into two penalties on the same play. Huberdeau got the puck from Dea and Kirill Dyakov had his stick in Huberdeau’s stomach and pulled him down. As Huberdeau is going down he passes it back to Dea on the left half wall and Andrei Sigarev checks him from behind for a 2:00 6-on-3 power play!
* Huberdeau might’ve made that veteran move of tucking Dyakov’s stick under his arm and then falling down.
* Andrei Sigarev argues with the ref and gets a 10-minute misconduct added on to his 2-minute minor!
* Arguing with the officials is pointless especially if you’re a player so you’re playing with fire when you do it.
* A chance for the Q to maybe get 2 goals and tie the game on a full 2 minutes of 5-on-3!
* GOAL (POWER PLAY) – Xavier Ouellet from Jonathan Huberdeau & Anthony Mantha at 2:53 of the 2nd period – Anthony Mantha is at the right point and passes the puck down to Jonathan Huberdeau at the right of the net (to Andrei Vasilevski’s left). Huberdeau handles the puck a little and tries to make a pass back to Mantha but fans on it so he quickly gets the puck back on his stick through Albert Yarulin’s legs to Xavier Ouellet and Ouellet fires one top shelf over Andrei Vasilevski’s right shoulder. QMJHL 1-2!
* Great job by Huberdeau to corral the puck and have the patience and vision to see Ouellet open and get the puck to him through the legs of the Russian defenseman.
* Great job by Ouellet to get open even though it was on a 5-on-3.
* Albert Yarulin could maybe try to get down a little making a pass through his legs more difficult.
* Get your stick and your body in the way of the passing lanes!
* GOAL – Maxim Shalunov from Vladimir Tkachev & Evgeni Mozer at 6:14 of the 2nd period – Maxim Shalunov gets the puck on the left wall in his own zone and makes a pass/clear that hits the glass across the ice in the neutral zone behind Evgeni Mozer. Mozer fell down but was still able to get to the puck and make a backhand pass to Vladimir Tkachev. Tkachev turns to start up ice and gets hit by Nathan MacKinnon but the puck squirts through just waiting for Shalunov to pick it up on the right side of the neutral for a 1-on-1 against Nikolas Brouillard. Shalunov cuts to the middle, fakes a shot getting Etienne Marcoux to move laterally and shoots back to the upper right corner over Marcoux’s glove. RUSSIA 3-1!
* Nathan MacKinnon makes a big hit that knocks down Tkachev and his teammate, Jonathan Racine, but doesn’t get the puck and he was covering for Brouillard, who had pinched the zone from the right point to keep the puck in. Strangely, Brouillard ends up being the last man back even after he had pinched.
* Jonathan Racine, the QMHL defenseman on the left point, read the crossing pass by Shalunov to Mozer and went to defend Mozer. He also made a hit instead of getting the puck.
* Just bad coverage and a case of puck-watching by the Q team. Four Q players went to the puck and none of them got to the puck.
* I’m a big fan of big hits but you can’t go out of your way to make a big hit. You have to read the play and make sure its the right play. In this case, it would’ve been a better decision to play the puck or at least play better defense.
* The hit got a bunch of cheers from the crowd but a minus-1 on the ice.
* PENALTY – James Melindy for Checking From Behind on Anton Zlobin at 12:06 of the 2nd period – James Melindy makes a body check on Anton Zlobin at the right half wall but hits him from behind for a relatively easy call for the official.
* Announcers said a checking from behind penalty in international play gets a 2-minute minor and a 10-minute misconduct so Melindy is escorted off the ice due to insufficient time left in the period for him to have a chance to get out of the penalty box!
* PENALTY – Mikhail Naumenkov for High-Sticking Hooking on Jean-Sebastien Dea at 15:04 of the 2nd period – A Nathan MacKinnon shot was deflected wide to the left of the net. Jean-Sebastien Dea gets to the puck and skates behind the net into the right corner. Mikhail Naumenkov picks up to Dea as he clears the net and looks like he taps him with his stick to let him know he’s there or just to bother him and the official makes a call for hooking.
* Not sure how the official saw that but it was a really quick hook and probably could’ve easily been a no-call.
* GOAL – Mikhail Naumenkov from Mikhail Grigorenko at 17:34 of the 2nd period – A face-off to Etienne Marcoux’s right is won by Mikhail Grigorenko back to Mikhail Naumenkov at the left point and Naumenkov one-times a slapper into the net to the low right corner. RUSSIA 4-1!
* Gotta love those low shots from the point especially when there’s a lot of bodies in front of the goalie.
* Marcoux appeared to not see that shot with all the players in front of him after the face-off.

3rd Period
* A couple big saves by Andrei Vasilevski in the first 5 minutes off identical plays off the face-off keep the game at 4-1!
* Nathan MacKinnon wins the face-off back to Jonathan Huberdeau for a quick wrister on back-to-back face-offs but Vasilevski is there to make the save on both.
* Huberdeau had moved off the wall for the face-off to behind right wing Anthony Mantha looking for MacKinnon to win the face-off back to him.
* MacKinnon actually won the face-off three consecutive times for a quick shot but the last one got past Anthony Mantha.
* PENALTY – James Melindy for Checking From Behind on Alexander Khoklachev at 7:28 of the 3rd period – Alexander Khoklachev takes the puck into the right of the Q zone but loses the puck as he gets to the half wall and James Melindy had already made up his mind to throw a body check and he ends up checking Khoklachev from behind.
* Melindy kind of leaped into the hit as well so he gets 2 and 10 for checking from behind and won’t get out of the box until there’s only 32 seconds left in regulation.
* Melindy reacted like he knew it was a bad hit after he made the hit so there wasn’t any intent to injure, just trying to make a physical play.
* GOAL (POWER PLAY) – Alexander Khoklachev from Nail Yakupov and at 9:11 of the 3rd period – Nail Yakupov brings the puck through the center of the neutral zone and takes a shot through Xavier Ouellet that rebounds off Etienne Marcoux, bounces over two QMJHL player’s sticks and Alexander Khoklachev drives the net and one-times a bullet over Etienne Marcoux’s glove for a 5-1 RUSSIAN LEAD!
* The shot was so hard it came out of the net like it went off the crossbar and the players kept playing but the goal judge and the official saw it go in.
* POPs!!! – Plays Off Pads!!! – A shot from Yakupov was probably meant to just create a rebound as it was shot low to create a bouncing puck.
* Low shots are harder to control for the goalie inducing rebounds and action in front of the net.
* The Q players couldn’t control the puck because it was bouncing which also gives the offense more time to get to it for another chance!
* Simple plays can make huge impacts in the game of hockey!
* Khoklachev fell forward after the shot which shows how much power he put into that shot!
* GREAT PLAY! BIG SAVE! – Andrei Vasilevski on Anthony Mantha at 9:28 of the 3rd period – A small 2-on-1 is created when Nathan MacKinnon comes through the center of the neutral zone and makes a pass to his left to Jonathan Huberdeau at the blue line. Pavel Koledov goes to defend Huberdeau and Huberdeau quickly passes it back to MacKinnon creating a small 2-on-1. Mikhail Naumenkov moves to defend MacKinnon and MacKinnon turns to his left and makes a turnaround pass to Anthony Mantha coming up the right center of the zone for a point-blank shot that Mantha tries to catch and shoot but Andrei Vasilevski is right where he needs to be to deflect the shot into the netting behind the net.
* Mantha might not have been able to one-time that pass but he didn’t have enough time to catch and shoot in that situation and Vasilevski had come out of his net enough to force a quick shot to beat him.
* It’s easy to see how much talent Nathan MacKinnon has for the game of hockey. Good vision, great skater, great skills! The whole package!
* PENALTY – Christopher Clapperton for High-Sticking on Nikita Nesterov at 11:06 of the 3rd period – Clapperton is forechecking and tries to lift Nesterov’s stick but misses and ends up hitting Nesterov in the face with his stick!
* The often seen high-sticking off a stick lift attempt!
* PENALTY – Andrei Sigarev for Roughing at 13:58 of the 3rd period – Andrei Sigarev makes a body check at the boards by the bench and makes a second effort to check Nikolas Brouillard into the bench and gets TWOOOOO Minutes for that effort!
* Why don’t you go sit for a couple minutes and think about what you did?
* GOAL (POWER PLAY) – Jean-Sebastien Dea from Jonathan Huberdeau & Xavier Ouellet at 14:41 of the 3rd period – Jean-Sebastien Dea tries to make a pass back to the left point but nobody is there so the puck goes back into the QMJHL zone. Xavier Ouellet retrieves the puck and seeing (or hearing) that the Russians are making a change, makes a quick turnaround pass to Jonathan Huberdeau at the right of the blue line. Huberdeau takes it into the zone and passes the puck to Dea coming up the center for a 1-on-1 with Andrei Vasilevski. Dea makes a move and let’s the puck go through the 5-hole of Vasilevski making the score 5-2!!!
* It appeared that Dea was trying to stickhandle around Vasilevski but mishandled the puck and it went through the goalie’s legs for the goal.
* Xavier Ouellet clearly took a quick look to see if the Russians would try to make a quick line change and then made a great pass to Huberdeau. GREAT PLAY!
* GOAL – Valentin Zykov from Evgeni Mozer at 17:22 of the 3rd period – A bad breakout pass turns into a scoring chance for Russia. Jonathan Racine makes a breakout pass to Nikolas Brouillard but it’s too far ahead of him and it bounces off the boards and Mikhail Naumenkov tries to dump the puck back in the zone but his stick is lifted. That leaves the puck for Evgeni Mozer to pick it up and head into the left center of the zone with speed. Mozer cuts to the middle and makes a short pass to Valentin Zykov , coming through the center of the zone and cutting behind Mozer, for the quick release shot through Etienne Marcoux’s 5-hole for a 6-2 RUSSIA Lead!!!
* One bad pass turns into a goal in 8 seconds! That’s how quick things can change when your passes aren’t precise.
* It didn’t look like Brouillard was expecting that pass.
* PENALTY – Kirill Kapustin for Interference Cross-Checking on Xavier Ouellet at 17:48 of the 3rd period – Not sure how they got a cross-check on that call. The official’s hand went up when Kirill Kapustin interfered with Xavier Ouellet as he pursued the puck. Whatever.
* PENALTY – Ilya Lyabushkin for Checking From Behind on Jean-Sebastien Dea at 19:03 of the 3rd period – Jean-Sebastien Dea gets the puck in the left corner and Ilya Lyabushkin pushes him low for a checking from behind penalty that will end his night with a 2 and 10!
* After the whistle, Anthony Mantha comes in to body check Lyabushkin and then Kirill Dyakov hits Mantha into the boards from behind which gets Jonathan Huberdeau to come in and hit Dyakov for the cheap hit on Mantha.
* A little cheap stuff to set up Wednesday night’s rematch? Maybe.

This one ends 6-2 in a game where it looked like the Russians were more ready for the game than the QMJHL All-Stars. That being said, it is only game one and I’m sure the Russian junior team have played together more than the All-Stars from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Game 2 is on Wednesday at Val-d’Or in Quebec and maybe the QMJHL will come out with a better game in this Super Series rematch.

If you want to see some highlights from the Canadian coverage of the game, go here!

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Gopher Hockey Recap vs Minnesota State Mavericks – 11-2-2012

Posted on November 4, 2012 by

The Gopher Hockey team faces their first in-state rival this season in the Minnesota State Mavericks. Mike Hastings, former Assistant Coach with the Gophers (2008-2009), was named Head Coach of the Minnesota State Mavericks in April after serving as Associate Head Coach in Nebraska-Omaha for three seasons.

Line Chart – Minnesota Golden Gophers

Left Wing Center Right Wing
Kyle Rau-7 Nick Bjugstad-27 Zach Budish-24
Nate Condon-16 Erik Haula-19 Christian Isackson-26
Ben Marshall-10 Travis Boyd-22 Seth Ambroz-17
Tom Serratore-14 AJ Michaelson-15 Justin Holl-12
Left Defenseman Right Defenseman
Jake Parenteau-6 Nate Schmidt-29
Mike Reilly-5 Mark Alt-20
Seth Helgeson-4 Brady Skjei-2
Goalie
Adam Wilcox-32

Scratches/Did Not Play: MIN: G-Ryan Coyne-31, G-Matt LaPrade-30, G-Michael Shibrowski-1, D-Blake Thompson-3, F-Christian Horn-18, F-Jared Larson-23, Ryan Reilly-9
Injured: MIN: F-Connor Reilly-21, Sam Warning-11

Line Chart – Minnesota State Mavericks

Left Wing Center Right Wing
Brett Knowles-24 Eli Zuck-29 Eriah Hayes-25
Chase Grant-21 Matt Leitner-18 Johnny McInnis-22
Dylan Margonari-26 Jean-Paul LaFontaine-12 Bryce Gervais-9
Max Gaede-8 Teddy Blueger-23 Zach Lehrke-19
Left Defenseman Right Defenseman
Tyler Elbrecht-16 Josh Nelson-2
Zach Palmquist-7 Nick Buchanon-4
Brett Stern-27 Jon Jutzi-28
Goalie
Phil Cook-30

A few changes for the Gopher Hockey team, last year’s #1 line is reunited as Zach Budish moves from the 2nd line to the 1st line, switching places with Christian Isackson, Nate Condon moves up the 2nd line from the 3rd line which puts Ben Marshall at forward on the 3rd line and Justin Holl gets to play forward again with Brady Skjei getting back into the lineup playing alongside Seth Helgeson. Adam Wilcox gets his first Friday start after getting the shutout against Canisius last Sunday.

Let’s drop the ‘Puck!!!

1st Period
•    They put a helmet camera on Don Adam, one of the referees! What is the world coming to?
⁃    Let’s see how many calls he screws up! or if he’s even looking at the puck!
⁃    It looks ridiculous, a relatively big camera sticking off his helmet some 3-5 inches above his head. WOW!
⁃    So it’s the view of a referee that is a little taller than the current referee!
•    BIG HIT!!! Jake Parenteau on Eriah Hayes at 16:19 of the 1st period – A dump into the right corner of the Gopher zone is pursued by Eriah Hayes coming down the right side. Hayes gets to it first, right at the goal line, but Jake Parenteau had him measured up as soon as he crossed the blue line. He waited for Hayes to touch the puck and pushed him from about 3 feet away from the boards. Hayes hit the boards than hit the ice. GREAT HIT!
⁃    Parenteau had his mind made up early that he was taking the man on that play.
⁃    I’m not sure that’s the time to just let the player play the puck though. I hope he knew there was nobody open in front of the net. Big hits are nice but you have to make them at the right time. That one worked out but he could’ve easily got to the puck before Hayes and might’ve been able to make a quick transition up the right side.
⁃    The Gophers did end up with a quick transition that turned into a 3-on-2 but it was called offsides.
⁃    The offsides looked like a bad call and FSN shows a replay but uses a bad angle that doesn’t show Erik Haula going in early on the left side of the zone.
⁃    While showing the bad angle replay, they miss the ensuing face-off! Gotta love FSN! The face-off they missed turned into a….
•    PENALTY – Zach Budish for Tripping at 4:00 of the 1st period – A face-off at the left dot just outside blue line of the MSU zone (to the left of Mavericks goalie Phil Cook) is won by the Mavericks back to Brett Stern. He quickly goes D-to-D to his partner Tyler Elbrecht. Elbrecht, a left-handed shot, skates the puck out of the zone and makes a nice backhand sauce (or floating) pass up the middle of the neutral zone to a breaking Dylan Margonari, who splits Seth Helgeson and Zach Budish to get a mini-breakaway and Budish must’ve hit his skate with a sweeping stick check or at least that’s what the ref saw.
⁃    Seth Helgeson did push Margonari down which may have made it look like a trip to the ref but it doesn’t appear that Budish tripped Margonari at all.
⁃    Where’s the ref camera view on that one? Let me guess! We have to go find in on the inter-webs! What’s the point of a ref camera if you’re not going to show that replay on the air?
•    GOAL – Zach Palmquist from Jean-Paul LaFontaine & Matt Leitner at 4:50 of the 1st period on the POWER PLAY – The Mavericks set up on the power play and after an attempted back door play that’s broken up by Brady Skjei. Skjei tried to clear the zone by wrapping it around the right boards but Matt Leitner stops it on the boards and passes it back to Zach Lehrke at the right point. Lehrke skates it to the center than passes it back to Leitner at the right half-wall. Leitner makes a quick pass down to Jean-Paul LaFontaine at the right of the net and LaFontaine makes a quick pass backdoor to Zach Palmquist for the one-timer into the net off Adam Wilcox’s right pad. MAVERICKS LEAD 1-0!
⁃    Brady Skjei was in no man’s land not covering anyone and not stopping the pass from going across for the backdoor opportunity. He had just stopped a pass from going through but this time he didn’t get down and actually was going to defend the man in the slot.
⁃    Up to Mike Guentzel and the other Gopher defenseman to get that fixed for the future.
⁃    The freshman D-men are getting early lessons on what it takes to play defense in the WCHA and division I college hockey!
⁃    Not sure Wilcox knew about the backdoor guy either from the way he tried to get over there.

   •    Nice hit by Ben Marshall on Dylan Margonari at 7:22 of the 1st period – Margonari gets the puck at the right half-wall in his own zone, skates it off the wall and makes a pass. Ben Marshall gets him in the shoulder sending him to the ice!
•    Jake Parenteau is Bringing the CLUTTER so far in this game! He unleashed another big hit on Eriah Hayes at the 8:13 mark of the 1st period!
⁃    Either Jake doesn’t like that guy or he’s played with/against him in the past or it might be pure coincidence and he just likes playing the physical game!
•    PENALTY – Nick Buchanon for Tripping at 9:57 of the 1st period – The Gophers get some puck time in the Maverick zone off good forechecking and Nick Buchanon ends up tripping Christian Isackson. Buchanon was just trying to get the puck away from Isackson and got his stick between his legs tripping him and giving the Gophers a power play!
⁃    Still no view from Ref Cam!
⁃    Maverick goalie Phil Cook had to come up huge on a Kyle Rau chance coming around the back of the net. Cook stacked the pads and got the save off his catching glove.
•    GOAL – Travis Boyd from Mike Reilly at 10:31 of the 1st period on the POWER PLAY – Travis Boyd gets the puck off a battle behind the net and skates around the left corner and passes it back to Mike Reilly at the center of the blue line. Reilly passes it back to Boyd at the left half-wall. Boyd skates in and shoots through the legs of Tyler Elbrecht, who went down to try to block the shot but ended up screening his goaltender and the puck went through the five-hole into the net. TIED AT 1!
⁃    Probably better to come out to the shooter in that situation or at least make sure he can’t get the shot through especially if you’re preventing your goalie from seeing the shot!
⁃    AND get your stick in front of the puck!

•    PENALTY – Christian Isackson for Tripping at 17:02 of the 1st period – Christian Isackson comes in on the forecheck and has to go around the net to chase Josh Nelson and just trying to bother him with a stick check, Isackson makes the mistake of getting his stick in the skates and he trips up Nelson for an obvious penalty with or without a helmet camera stuck to your helmet!
⁃    Control your stick and don’t put it in places it shouldn’t be!
⁃    Don’t take that the wrong way although that’s probably good advice as well! Haha!
⁃    If he doesn’t put his stick there, he doesn’t trip the player and no penalty happens!

2nd Period
•    PENALTY – Eriah Hayes for Cross-Checking on Mike Reilly at 3:57 of the 2nd period – Mike Reilly is going to the puck as it wraps around the right corner to the right half-wall and he gets a cross-check in the lower back sending him to the ice.
⁃    Kevin Gorg calls it a “ticky-tack call” by the ref but that’s probably because the replay shown on FSN doesn’t show the actual penalty but it shows a little “ticky-tack” cross-check after the initial penalty.
⁃    Maybe they should check the Ref-Cam? WOW!
•    SAVE – Adam Wilcox on….Mike Reilly at 9:17 of the 2nd period – A centering pass is deflected by Mike Reilly and Adam Wilcox has to be sharp to stop that one. Not very often you’ll have to worry about the puck going in off your own team’s stick but Mike Reilly was just  trying to keep the puck from going through to Teddy Bleuger.
•    GOAL – Teddy Blueger from Zach Lehrke & Max Gaede at 9:33 of the 2nd period – A bouncing puck off a deflection of a point shot at the right point is a tough handle for Brady Skjei and Teddy Blueger gets a mini-breakaway for a quick shot on goal that Adam Wilcox saves but it rebounds to Max Gaede who takes a quick shot that is saved and goes to the right corner. Zach Lehrke gets to it first and throws the puck in front of the net. The puck goes off of Wilcox’s skate, off the right post and across the crease, behind Wilcox, to the other side where Teddy Blueger is there for the easy tap-in for a Mavericks 2-1 lead!
⁃    Panic ensued after Teddy Blueger gets the little breakaway with Seth Helgeson diving to try to block the shot, which allows Max Gaede a chance and then two guys go to cover the corner and Teddy Blueger is left alone by the net.
⁃    The officials are looking at the play. When Max Gaede gets his shot, he runs into Adam Wilcox and it played a part in Wilcox being able to make the save from the centering play in the corner.
⁃    Apparently it wasn’t enough for them to disallow the goal.

•    PENALTY – Brett Stern for Holding, Hooking, Tripping (Take Your Pick) on Nate Schmidt at 13:10 of the 2nd period – A tough pass to the feet of Tyler Elbrecht at the offensive blue line turns into a break for the Gophers. Erik Haula gets the loose puck and heads down the left side while Nate Schmidt broke for the net as soon as he saw Haula was going to get the puck. Schmidt uses his speed to get a step on Brett Stern forcing him to take him down taking away his scoring chance!
⁃    It was a 2-on-3 break and Nate Schmidt still got ahead of the Maverick defense.
⁃    Crazy things can happen when the puck is turned over.
⁃    Panic causes mistakes because players look to make the first move instead of the right move.
⁃    DO YOUR JOB! It seems like an easy thing but when your job changes because of a turnover or a deflection, two guys will cover one guy because that’s the first guy they see.
⁃    Teams have to talk to each other on the fly and tell each other who they are covering or someone will be left open and get a chance to score. STAY CALM and make the right play and tell your teammates what you’re doing.
⁃    Either that or you give up a good scoring chance or you are forced to take a penalty.
•    GOAL – Nate Schmidt from Kyle Rau & Erik Haula at 15:07 of the 2nd period on the POWER PLAY – A one-time shot at the top of the right circle from Erik Haula is blocked by Tyler Elbrecht to the right half-wall. Haula gets to it first and Kyle Rau is skating past him back to the right point. Haula makes a short pass to Rau as he passes by and Rau makes the smallest touch of the puck to get it back to Nate Schmidt as he moves from the right point. Nate Schmidt gets the puck, fakes a slapper, getting the defender to go down and then unleashing a blast that goes in the upper right corner over Phil Cook’s glove! TIED AT 2!
⁃    Phil Cook might’ve been screened by his defense again. As Nate Schmidt shoots, another Maverick player is trying to go down to block the shot. Zach Budish is already in front of the net trying to screen the goaltender as well.
•    Eriah Hayes is the recipient of another big hit! This one is courtesy of Mark Alt at the left half-wall at 15:49 mark of the 2nd period!
•    Adam Wilcox has a chance to freeze the puck and he decides to stick save it into the corner. The Mavericks get a good 30 seconds of pressure and get a point blank shot that Wilcox has to save and then Eriah Hayes pushes Seth Helgeson into Adam Wilcox and we get some after the whistle scrums because of it.
⁃    Maybe Wilcox thought the bouncing puck was too difficult to try to corral in that situation?
⁃    Better to get a face-off than give up sustained pressure and a point blank shot in front of the net!

3rd Period
•    PENALTY – Eli Zuck for Cross-Checking on Nate Condon at :27 of the 3rd period – An easy call for the Helmet Cam! Nate Condon is in the right corner and Eli Zuck cross-checked him into the boards. It probably could’ve easily been called checking from behind too.
⁃    No reason to take that penalty like most cross-checking penalties!
⁃    Where do players learn the cross-checking technique? It must just come naturally.
•    PENALTY – Brett Knowles for Interfence of Christian Isackson at 4:49 of the 3rd period – The Gopher hockey team has come out firing on all cylinders to begin the 3rd period. Some sustained pressure results in another big hit by none other than Jake Parenteau. As the puck is cleared by Jean-Paul LaFontaine, Jake Parenteau comes in and gets LaFontaine in the right shoulder. Mavericks want a penalty but to no avail. Nate Schmidt goes back to get the puck and hits Erik Haula breaking into the right of the Maverick zone and starts a 2-on-1. Haula gets a step on the D-man and makes a backhand pass to Christian Isackson but he’s taken down by Brett Knowles before the puck gets to him.
•    GOAL – Zach Budish from Kyle Rau & Nate Schmidt at of the 3rd period on the POWER PLAY – The Gophers get a ton of pressure on the power play. The Mavericks clear the zone but the Gophers get the puck back into the zone rather easily. Kyle Rau takes the puck into the right part of the zone slowly and passes it to Nick Bjugstad in the right corner. Bjugstad comes out of the corner and passes it to Erik Haula on the right half-wall. Haula passes it to Nate Schmidt at the center of the blue line and he takes a slapper that is partially tipped by Zach Budish and ends up hitting Kyle Rau at the right side of the net. Rau takes a quick backhand shot that Phil Cook saves but it rebounds to Zach Budish and he quickly pokes it into the net. GOPHERS 3-2!!!
•    PENALTY – Travis Boyd for Tripping on Johnny McInnis at 8:54 of the 3rd period – An entry into the left of the Gopher zone by Johnny McInnis gets him a chance at a shot that he takes. The shot is blocked by Nate Schmidt and the puck lands right back near McInnis, who had an open path to the net but he’s slashed on the back of the leg from behind causing him to go down and draw a penalty for tripping.
•    PENALTY – Eriah Hayes for Checking From Behind Charging on Kyle Rau at 19:51 of the 3rd period – Maybe we’re starting to see why Eriah Hayes is getting hit so much. Kyle Rau is at the right half-wall in the Gopher zone trying to get the puck out of the zone late in the game and Eriah Hayes takes a run at him from behind and gets called for it.
⁃    The hit wasn’t directly from behind. It was a little from the side and Kyle Rau didn’t even hit the boards so there’s that but it’s a pointless hit. There’s no need to do that when you’re team is trying to get the puck in the offensive zone down by one goal with little time remaining.
⁃    It was called Charging!

The Gopher hockey team pulled out another W tonight! They overcame some defensive miscues and played well offensively. Adam Wilcox made some big saves and will probably get the start tomorrow night as well. The Gophers got goals from Travis Boyd, Nate Schmidt and Zach Budish. The Mavericks got goals from Zach Palmquist and Teddy Blueger. Phil Cook gets the loss in this one although you can’t really blame him for any of the goals he gave up. That’s the life of a goalie. The rematch is tomorrow night in Mankato!

Gopher Hockey Recap from GopherSports.com – Power-Play Goals Push Gophers to 3-2 Win Over Mavericks
Gopher Hockey Box Score from GopherSports.com – Minnesota-Minnesota State Stats
Gopher Hockey Recap from MSUMavericks.com – #2 Minnesota Edges Mavericks 3-2 in Minneapolis Friday

In other WCHA hockey action:
Home=”vs” , Away=”at”
St. Cloud State won at Denver 3-0,
Nebraska-Omaha won at Michigan Tech 2-1,
Colorado College won at Wisconsin 5-4 (in OT),
and
North Dakota won vs Boston University 4-2

In other College Hockey action,
Western Michigan won at Notre Dame 3-2,
and
Boston College won at Maine 4-2

The Gopher hockey highlights are on the video at the top of the article including some of the hits! Enjoy!

As always….BRING THE CLUTTER! In the comments, on Twitter, on Facebook or on Google+ or email it to ‘PUCK your friends! They’ll love it! Who doesn’t like to get ‘PUCKED?

Keep on ‘PUCKIN In The Free World!

You’ve been CLUTTERPUCKED!

Posted in College Hockey, Gopher Hockey, Hockey In Minnesota, News/Transactions | Leave a comment