It was a fun weekend in Houghton, Michigan! A group of us die-hard Gopher fans
drove up for the season opener and not only was the ride up colorful, but the
fans were treated to some great hockey. Erik and Paula Biever, Pam Sweeney,
Pat Gonzales and myself met up with Bob Gilreath and his lovely wife Liz, and
we enjoyed great company before and after the games. The games at Tech were
very well attended by Gopher fans. Many of the parents drove up, including
some of the freshman parents! I was really surprised at the number of Gopher
fans that were there.
Friday night was thrilling for the Gopher fans, we got to see the freshman in
action and they were everything we were led to believe. They are BIGGER and
they are FASTER, we'll hold our judgement on the NASTIER part for now. :-)
On Friday, during the first two periods, the Gophers looked like they had been
playing together for months instead of just a couple of weeks. Dave Larson
came up big with two rebound goals, recapturing his form he revealed at the
end of last season. And Jason Godbout, who had a stroke last March and open
heart surgery in May, played his finest! Godbout who scored the second goal of
the game thrilled the parents and his teammates, to say nothing of himself.
Casey Hankinson got the fourth goal. I was impressed with the play of goalie
Jeff Moen, he looked wonderful. No more standing in the shadow of Callinan for
him! Reggie Berg and Erik Rassmussen looked strong and will contribute much as
the season progresses.
Tech's goalie, Carravaggio had a tough night and was pulled for the backup
goaltender in the third period. As we heard on the local radio after the game,
coach Mancini credited his changing goaltenders with turning the game around.
We all had a good laugh about that! :-)
After the game we all headed over to the Ambassador bar for some of their
infamous "fishbowl" drinks. Bob and his wife Liz, were surrounded by jubilant
Gopher fans but didn't seem to mind and took it all in stride. Soon the Gopher
parents arrived and when we departed around midnight, the Gopher moms were
doing shots of Bailey's! It was a wildly happy bunch at that table.
Saturday brought pouring rain and snowflakes mixed in. Back to the arena, for
game two. As soon as the puck dropped, the Gopher faithful *knew* something
was wrong. Coach Woog had juggled the lines again...the only substitution was
Mike Anderson in place of Jesse Bertogliat. The Gophers didn't have that
zip/confidence/familiarity that they had on Friday night. :-( It was to be a
long night for the Gopher faithful. Tech had Carravaggio back in goal, and he
played very well, so much better than Friday night.
Where on Friday night, the Gophers made their crisp passes and punishing
checks, on Saturday nothing clicked and Tech was able to take full advantage
of all the miscues. Tech never gave up, on Friday and again on Saturday and it
paid off with a big win over the Gophers. With about three minutes left in the
third period the Gophers were down by two goals and Woog pulled goalie DeBus
for a sixth skater to Tech's four (Tech had a penalty). This turned out to be
a costly mistake as Tech scored when one of their skaters broke through the
Gopher defense and hit the empty net. Woog tried pulling the goalie again, but
the Gophers couldn't convert. They were not a happy bunch as they left the
ice.
Ah, but it is ONLY two games into the season, so don't fret folks. The best is
yet to come. As Herb Brooks has said: You can't teach a team anything after a
win. (paraphrased)
Thanks to the Tech Pep band, who entertained the Gopher crowd with their peppy
rendition of "Oh, Canada". :-) You guys/gals are sure fun to watch!
If you have a chance to go up to Houghton, by all means go!
-Carol
Carol S. White *** PLEASE NOTE NEW ADDRESS BELOW!***
University of Minnesota internet: [log in to unmask]
Office of the Registrar
(612) 625-8517\/\/\/GOPHER HOCKEY...THE FASTEST GAME IN TOWN!!!
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