Headline: Hockey Gophers continue mastery of Badgers
Publish Date: 03/02/1994
 
David Jackson
 
Staff Reporter
 
Earlier this year, Gopher defenseman Eric Means said Gopher hockey
players felt they were capable of beating anyone by playing tough,
smart hockey. Maybe that's the best way to explain their success this
weekend.
 
Otherwise, Minnesota's weekend sweep of Wisconsin would be difficult
to understand. Despite the Gophers' success against their
counterparts from Madison in all sports this season, this had to be
the biggest surprise of all.
 
The teams entered the series going in opposite directions. Wisconsin
had won five of its last six games, while Minnesota had won just one
of its last five, including an embarrassing sweep at home by Alaska
Anchorage the previous weekend.
 
But after taking both games by identical 3-2 scores, the Gophers had
bumped the Badgers out of first place in the WCHA and moved into a
tie for the top spot themselves. Most improbable was the three-goal
rally Saturday in the third period that turned a 2-0 deficit into a
victory. It led many to believe that there was a magic that
surrounded Gopher teams when they played Wisconsin.
 
``I don't know if it's magic,'' said Means, who scored the winning
goal Saturday. ``I think it's an attitude. You don't get swept. In my
four years, we haven't been swept by Wisconsin.''
 
Means said Friday night's win was the key to the sweep. ``Our saying
was, if you get one (win), a lot of leaves are going to fall off the
tree,'' he said.
 
And in the Wisconsin locker room Saturday night, it looked like the
tree was indeed bare.
 
``We just felt like we didn't get the bounces,'' Badger forward Jamie
Spencer said. ``We didn't play that poorly, but we made mental
mistakes. Still, this is hard to swallow because it's Minnesota. We
can beat this team if we really play our hearts out.''
 
Another explanation is the Gophers' success in one-goal games. With
the two wins, they improved to 10-3 in one-goal games. For that
reason they stand at 19-11-4, despite outscoring their opponents by
only one goal for the season.
 
No return, yet
 
Gopher coach Doug Woog met Tuesday with Team USA forward Darby
Hendrickson and his father, Larry. Darby Hendrickson told Woog that
he didn't want to return to the Gopher team this year.
 
``It's a mental and physical deal,'' said Woog. ``He's tired and
didn't want to disrupt the chemistry of the team. He's not copping
out, but he had been pushing it for seven months, and he wanted to
start fresh next year.''
 
Woog said he left the door open for Hendrickson to return this year,
and told the junior from Richfield he could take a week to reconsider
his decision. If Hendrickson returns this year, he will lose a year
of eligibility. Without playing this year, he would remain a junior
next year.
 
WCHA update
 
Colorado College is tied with the Gophers for first place in the
conference, and the Tigers hold the tie-breaker advantage on the
basis of their sweep of Minnesota in the season's first weekend.
 
If the Tigers win their first league title since 1957, they can point
to a dramatic rally Saturday against North Dakota as the stepping
stone.
 
Throughout the first two periods Saturday night, Badger fans cheered
each time the public address announcer gave an update of the
Tiger-Sioux game, which saw North Dakota leading 4-1 after two
periods.
 
When the Gophers left the ice Saturday the public address announcer
reported the 4-1 score once again. The Minnesota fans let out a
rousing cheer in response.
 
The Sioux increased the lead to 5-1 in the third period, but the
Tigers scored four times in the game's final eight minutes, including
two goals in the final minute, to earn the tie and a point in the
standings. They play a home-and-home series with Denver to conclude
the season.
 
For the record
 
Enough has been made of the Gophers losing players to Team USA, which
deprived them of some of their scoring punch. But their situation
pales in comparison to defending national champion Maine.
 
The Black Bears lost forwards Chris and Peter Ferraro and defenseman
Chris Imes to Team USA for the entire season, and standout Paul
Kariya to Team Canada for all but the season's first 12 games.
 
How hard has it been for the replacements? Consider that Kariya, in
just those 12 games, accumulated 24 points, a figure which is still
third on the team, and only 10 points fewer than the team leader.
 
 
 
Pam Sweeney                            Go Gophers!!!
[log in to unmask]         1993 WCHA Playoff Champions!!!
[log in to unmask]              Ski-U-Mah!!!