The Gophers conducted their first Maroon vs. Gold scrimmage Friday afternoon at
Mariucci Arena.  I attended Maroon's 7-5 victory with Erik and Paula, as we were
anxious to see this year's new Gophers.  The freshmen forwards impressed, as
Ryan Kraft, Joe Pankratz, and Casey Hankinson each scored 2 goals.  Kraft and
senior Jed Fiebelkorn each had 2 goals and 2 assists playing for Maroon on what
would prabably(??) be the Gophers' third line with Dan Woog (soph).  It was good
to see 6-4 210-lb Jed throwing some hits at wing.  His 4 pts are a good sign for
the otherwise undersized Gophers.  Sophomores Brian LaFleur and Brent Godbout
also each had a goal.
 
The probable first line, playing for Gold, was Justin McHugh (sr), Andy Brink
(jr), and Scott Bell (sr).  Bell had a goal and they seemed to be able to put
some pressure on playing against the putative 2nd line of Brian Bonin (jr), Dave
Larson (jr) and Nick Checco (soph), which didn't seem to be clicking.
 
We thought the frosh defensemen Mike Crowley and Jason Godbout both looked
pretty comfortable with the puck.  We're wondering if Woog will start Crowley
off at point on the power play right away or not.  Crowley was paired with Dan
Trebil (jr) whom I noticed seemed to be trying to get into the offensive action
a little more than in the past (continuing a trend in his play from the latter
half of last season.)   Woog has said that he might need to get some offensive
spark from his defensemen this year.  Also, newly beefed-up defender Charlie
Wasley (jr) looked like he was enjoying throwing his new weight around.
 
Yes, there was a fight at the scrimmage.  It featured soph Dan Hendrickson
against junior Jesse Bertogliat.  Definitely not the Superheavyweight division.
Even after the fight was broken up by senior captain Scott Bell, Hendy still
wanted to go after Bertogliat, so I guess you'd have to say at least one guy was
taking the scrimmage pretty seriously. :-)
 
Overall, I was very pleased with the freshmen.  Kraft in particular looked quite
comfortable with the college game.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect from
Hankinson, so he was a pleasant surprise also.  Crowley and Godbout both have
pretty high expectations to live up to and seemed to fit in out there, too
(although I have a more difficult time judging defensemen).  My pleasure at the
play of the freshmen outweighs my concerns about that putative second line.  I
know that Woog wanted to split Bonin and McHugh up to get his only 2 proven
scorers on different lines, but I still wonder if they aren't better off with
the chemistry the two of them seem to have together.  Maybe a little more time
together will allow that second line to develop some chemistry of its own, or
maybe the goal-scoring of the freshmen will lead to a little rearranging to add
some zest on that line.  Woog certainly has never shown any hesitation about
juggling his lines.  :-)
 
Well, just MY opinions and speculations (I'd say "the ramblings of a crazed
hockey fan", but I don't want Tony suing for copyright infringment...)  There's
another scrimmage this Friday at 2:00 for anybody in town who wants to play
hooky and check 'em out for themselves!
 
Pam Sweeney                            Go Gophers!!!
[log in to unmask]      1993 & 1994 WCHA Playoff Champions!!!
                                  1994 NC$$ PHinal PHour!!!
                                        Ski-U-Mah!!!