From the Minnesota Daily this morning, an article about the match-up.
Enjoy!
-Carol
 
Headline: Hockey team faces `European' Pioneers
Publish Date: 11/19/1993
By David Jackson
Staff Reporter
 
Here in Minnesota, with its Scandinavian heritage, the Denver hockey
team might feel right at home.
 
In addition to their six Minnesotans, the Pioneers boast five
Scandinavians on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's most
diverse roster. Four of the five will be in uniform this weekend when
Minnesota hosts Denver tonight and tomorrow at Mariucci Arena.
 
Sophomore forward Erik Andersson is from Sweden, while sophomore
goalie Sinuhe Wallinheimo and freshman forwards Petri Gunther and
Antti Laaksonen are from Finland. Swedish freshman Anders Bjork will
be eligible to play next season.
 
Coach Frank Serratore said he had no choice but to recruit overseas.
 
``We had lost some key North American prospects to other schools. We
asked, `Do we want to go to the next rung down or do we want to
explore other areas?','' Serratore said.
 
Part of the problem is the recruiting of Canadian players. A player
in the top Canadian leagues, classified as Tier I, loses his NCAA
eligibility. And the lure of a pro career has led many prospects to
choose the Tier I teams in spite of those consequences.
 
This decreased the pool of eligible recruits and forced programs like
Denver to seek other recruiting avenues.
 
So Serratore brought in Andersson, his ``test pilot,'' from
Stockholm, Sweden last season. Though the 6-3, 201-pound left wing
was ineligible to play, he practiced with the team and impressed
Serratore with his skills.
 
``Erik is a good all-purpose player. He brings some size to the
table,'' Serratore said. Andersson has two goals and three assists in
the team's six games this season.
 
The three Finns followed Andersson. Both Gunther and Laaksonen have
scored their first collegiate goals, while Wallinheimo has played
three games in net for the Pioneers, winning two.
 
The biggest difficulty facing the Europeans was the smaller American
rinks. Most European rinks feature the 100 foot-by-200 foot Olympic
size sheet, while most American ones, including Denver's are narrower
and shorter.
 
``The first thing to get used to was the size of the rink. I had to
play more physically and that included lifting a lot,'' Andersson
said.
 
For goalie Wallinheimo, the adjustment is different. ``There are more
breakaways and 2-on-1's here. But my job is still to stop the puck.
So it's a little bit easier for me than for the other foreign
players.''
 
But this weekend's series will be on the Olympic sheet at Mariucci
Arena, which could work to Denver's advantage. The Pioneer team is
built on speed.
 
Gopher defenseman Eric Means said of Denver, ``(The Europeans) aren't
even their fastest players. They've got guys like (Angelo) Ricci and
(Jason) Elders who can fly.''
 
Ricci agreed, saying, ``It's conducive to our style, especially for
the guys from Europe. But I'm looking forward to it, too. I'm more of
an offensive player.''
 
While Serratore's European recruits will certainly help the team this
weekend, they also help serve a larger mission at Denver. Ten percent
of the university population is international, with students from 71
countries. The Pioneer team now reflects the overall composition of
the school.
 
``If Doug (Woog) brought in a couple of Swedes or Finns, there'd be
an uprising,'' Serratore said. ``Here people think it's neat.''
 
Gopher notes: Minnesota goalie Jeff Callinan was named WCHA defensive
player of the week for his 51 saves in two games against
Minnesota-Duluth. Callinan stopped 19 of 20 shots in Friday's 3-1
win, then saved 32 of 35 shots in Saturday's 3-3 tie.
 
Carol S. White                            BITNET: c-whit@uminn1
University of Minnesota        internet:[log in to unmask]
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(612) 625-8517                                    GO Gophers!!!