Matt Evans wrote:
 
> Does Woog have to reconsider this position for next year?  They are going
> to need an excellent goalie to back up what could be another dismal year
> for Gopher goal scoring.
 
Deciding that you need to change starting goalies based one 30 minutes is
silly.  If those 30 minutes are in a consolation game that ends the season,
then doubly so.  I do think that Woog should throw the position open and let
someone win it next year, but I'd be surprised if Rob LaRue is that guy.  Adam
Hauser came on strong towards the end of the season.  Erik Day may or may not
be healthy, but I wouldn't write him out of the picture yet.
 
I'm also not so sure that next year is going to be dismal for the Gopher
offense.  Moving Westrum back to defense will help, as will the extra
experience for Jordan Leopold.  Up front, there are several candidates to
improve enough to pick up the lost offense from Wyatt Smith and Reggie Berg.
Working on the principle that career stats are a better predictor than the most
recent season, it's pretty likely that Dave Spehar will bounce back.  Aaron
Miskovich could easily step up.  John Pohl might finish adjusting to the
college game.  Erik Wendell has the makings of a decent power forward.
 
Of course, perhaps none of these guys will get the job done.  I think this is
an off-season in which the Gophers will have more questions than any in recent
years.  With the players that North Dakota and Colorado College are losing, I
can make a case for Minnesota finishing anywhere from first to eighth in the
WCHA next year.  It's kind of exciting, really, not having any idea what next
year is going to bring.
 
J. Michael Neal
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.