The Gophers played much better tonight, but I still disagree with Frank
Mazzocco and Tom Reid that it was a convincing victory; I still thought
that St. Cloud outplayed them.  The next time we Gopher fans are
complaining that we didn't get the bounces, someone should remind us of
this game.  The Huskies hit the pipe at least seven times in this game,
including three times on one shift during the second period.
 
This time, the Gophers looked more like last year's team.  Yesterday,
they were completely lost.  Today, one could say that they were trying
too hard.  One of the symptoms of this is that they looked better at the
offensive end than on defense.  There were breakdowns in coverage all
over.  DeBus looked very beatable, and Minnesota was fortunate that St.
Cloud was just off the target on a lot of shots.
 
Tonight, it was the first period that Minnesota completely owned, and
they actually managed to end it with a 2-1 lead.  They forced St. Cloud
into taking penalties, and actually converted one of the three power
plays in the period.  There were examples of the problems that would
plague them later, but they came out of the gate fast enough to cover
them up.
 
The score after two periods was 5-2.  This gives an entirely
inappropriate indication of the play in the period.  For most of it, I
thought the Huskies were in charge.  This was where most of the pipe
shots came about.  St. Cloud tied it at 2 early on and the Gophers took
a while to get the lead again.  Much like Friday night, the home team
scored two late goals in the second to create the impression that they
controlled the period.
 
Tonight's third period was not at all like Friday's.  St. Cloud simply
would not go away.  They never were able to get closer than two goals,
but the game never felt secure until the last minute.  For a team that
is supposed to be the "bitter rivals" of my guys (to quote Frank
Mazzocco), I find myself wishing St. Cloud the best of luck as the
season progresses.  I like the way they play and the way they didn't
quit during the third.
 
I will end my weekend's comments by plugging two Gophers that I thought
played well.  Brett Abrahamson had a good weekend.  He had a goal during
that miserable performance last night and took the slapper that Wyatt
Smith tipped in tonight.  More importantly, he seemed (from what I could
tell on TV) to be in better position and all around playing smarter on
defense than most of his teammates.  It's been a rough couple of years
for him at the bottom of the depth chart, not getting much PT.  He
really seems to have stuck with it.
 
Dave Spehar really seems to be figuring out this hockey thing.  He noe
has a nine game scoring streak, over which the plays have been getting
prettier and prettier.  His defense has only suffered marginally in the
process.  By next year, I think he might be the player we were all
hoping to see.  He is still saddled with the burden of hs diminutive
size.  As he gets better, he is going to be absolutely mugged.  It's
much like what people have been saying about the French Connection at
Vermont; unfortunately, the play is much more physical out here in the
West.  He got roughed up tonight and had to start retaliating.  As he
develops, I think Woog is going to have to assign Spehar a bodyguard, a
la the way that Jason Botterill protects Brendan Morrison.
 
Well, I feel much better tonight than I did 24 hours ago.  It wasn't
just the win.  The Gophers have a lot of work to do to be as good as I
think they should be, but at least they gave an indication that there is
a light at the end of this tunnel.
 
J. Michael Neal
 
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