Pioneer Press URls:
http://www.pioneerplanet.com/sports/hockey/docs/021489.htm
After intense week, U ready for CC
I couldn't resist quoting this one (hopefully within the bounds of "fair use=
")
Just how intense was practice?
{snip}
Wednesday, two goalies got into a fight. Yes, goalies. Sophomore
Steve
DeBus, who will start both games this weekend after alternating with
Jeff Moen all season, and third-stringer Willy Marvin dropped their
gloves and traded punches after exchanging words.
http://www.pioneerplanet.com/sports/hockey/docs/028504.htm
Colorado College Tigers at Gophers (pregame capsule)
And the Minnesota Daily articles from the past two days.
The first is today's, entitled "Gophers must stop Tigers' scoring punch"
The second is yesterday's which has several items in it:
DeBus will play both games against Tigers
MSC Gophers doubleheader
U adds row to Mariucci
Gophers must stop Tigers' scoring punch
Matthew Cross - Staff Reporter
Denver hockey coach George Gwozdecky knows Colorado College like peanut
butter knows jelly.
They don't mix and they are always together.
His team has faced the Tigers five times this season and is the only squad
to manage a victory over its top-ranked rival.
Gwozdecky's team has actually beaten Colorado College twice this season --
once in league play, once in the Denver Cup -- and if there's one person
who knows why the Tigers are so good, it's him.
"I don't think there's any secrets," Gwozdecky said. "They have highly
skilled players. They have proven seniors and add to that an outstanding
freshman class.
"When you get that kind of a talent pool it's just a matter of getting them
to play together. It's not magic."
Gwozdecky expects a fast-paced, low scoring pair of games this weekend
which will also include a lot of shots and good goaltending. For the
Gophers to win, he said, they will have to play excellent defense.
"Minnesota has better depth and more experience on the blue line, and they
need to take advantage of that," Gwozdecky said. "They also have to be
disciplined on special teams."
Gophers coach Doug Woog said he would like to stay out of a penalty war,
but knows the game will be very physical and that infractions are
inevitable.
To counter, Woog will try to distract Colorado College's young defensive
corps with sound forechecking. That has been the emphasis in practice for
Minnesota during the week.
Tigers coach Don Lucia is taking a more conservative approach to the series
by instructing his players to be smart with the puck and avoid turnovers.
"It's going to come down to whose star players play better," Lucia said.
"It's going to be tough from our standpoint. I think we'll find out our
weaknesses this weekend, but hopefully we'll be able to fix that before the
postseason."
Lucia vividly remembers last season when the Gophers beat Colorado College
5-2 in the NCAA West Regionals to earn a spot in the final four. But he
doesn't see that happening again this season.
"We weren't playing our best hockey at the end of the year, and I think we
were mentally tapped," Lucia said.
"We have found out that winning regular-season titles won't mean anything
when it's all over. We want to get to the final four this year," he said.
Gwozdecky doesn't see anything stopping the Tigers from accomplishing its
goals, and he also said Minnesota might as well concede the regular season
title now.
"It's going to be real tough for the Gophers," Gwozdecky said. "They can
take two of the necessary three games this weekend, but I honestly don't
see it happening.
"I do think, however, that either team should expect to go a long way in
the postseason. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they were both in the
final four this year."
=46or Colorado College, that would be its first appearance in the final four
since 1957, whereas Minnesota has been there six times in the last 10 years
under Coach Woog.
The Gophers have a similar goal to make it to the final four, but this year
they want to win it. Woog said last season they were just content to be
there.
Certainly getting swept by North Dakota last weekend has put a damper on
their situation, but Woog thinks the Gophers have earned better grades to
lead up to the final exam.
"Our temperament is different," Woog said. "There are reasons to focus on
what your needs are when your report card isn't good. Our biggest challenge
right now is to finish the season in a positive way."
And it all starts with a good showing against the No. 1 team in the
country: Colorado College.
Notes: Beside goaltender Steve DeBus getting the start in both games this
weekend, Woog has made other changes in the lineup. Most notable, forward
Ryan Kraft will move from wing to center, where he played last season. He
will be between Casey Hankinson, who moves from the first line to the
second, and Dave Larson. Freshman winger Reggie Berg will take Hankinson's
place on the first line.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DeBus will play both games against Tigers
Matthew Cross - Staff Reporter
There is no denying this weekend's Gophers series against Colorado
College is the most anticipated of the college hockey season.
Players and coaches from both teams are expecting a pair of fast and
physical games, but they also realize goaltending will be the key to
winning.
"Hockey is a funny game in that no matter how you look at it, it always
comes down to goaltending," said Tigers coach Don Lucia. "A good defense
almost always beats a good offense."
Although Minnesota and Colorado College have the top two offensive squads in
the WCHA, both have credited solid defense and goalkeeping as the keys to
their success.
The top four goalies in the league will be at Mariucci Arena this weekend in
Minnesota's Steve DeBus and Jeff Moen, and the Tigers' Ryan Bach and Judd
Lambert.
Gophers Coach Doug Woog decided Tuesday that DeBus will start both games
this weekend despite giving up eight goals in losses last weekend at North
Dakota.
"I just think that he's got a better chance of winning," Woog said. The
coach also said DeBus is better at handling the puck in a big rink like
Mariucci Arena.
Woog said he might ask Moen to play both games in next weekend's
home-and-home series against St. Cloud State.
DeBus said he didn't leave Grand Forks smiling about his play, but he has
not lost his touch.
"I didn't play my best game on Saturday, but I don't think it hurt my
confidence at all," DeBus said. "It was just one game, and everybody is
going to have those. You just have to re-focus and give 100 percent next
time."
DeBus will have to play his best hockey of the season this weekend against
the third-best offensive team in the nation. But that prospect doesn't
concern him.
"I love getting 30 shots a game because then I know I am in the game," DeBus
said. "It's fun to have the pressure on you and sometimes you welcome a
breakaway because you know you're going to stop it."
By getting swept at North Dakota last weekend, the series against the Tigers
has lost its hype, but the Gophers still see a lot of reasons to play.
DeBus hopes a competition for bragging rights among goaltenders will add
some excitement.
"Jeff and I want to say we're the top two guys," DeBus said. "We have
nothing to lose and they're coming into our barn."
DeBus also sees the series as something that could be used as a building
block for the postseason. He anticipates a meeting between the teams either
in the WCHA playoffs or the NCAA tournament.
"We may not be able to finish first," DeBus said. "But we are going to play
them again down the line and beating them now would only help our
confidence.
"There's no reason we can't play well, and there's no reason we can't beat
them. That's something I learned from North Dakota in the way they played
against us."
In the four years Minnesota's 10 seniors have been playing, they've never
won the regular season title (Minnesota-Duluth won it in 1992-93 and
Colorado College won it the last two years).
And those seniors are not quite ready to concede the title.
"We haven't given up on the season yet," Moen said. "We've got a hill to
climb, but the seniors definitely want to go out with a ring and a national
championship. I think we have a better team than last year as far as the
camaraderie, and we are deeper talent-wise this year."
And last year the Gophers made it to the NCAA final four.
MSC Gophers doubleheader
Midwest Sports Channel announced it will broadcast both the Gophers
basketball and hockey games live on Saturday.
Typically, MSC would show the hockey game on tape-delay, but with the hype
for the Colorado College game, it decided to offer fans an option.
The first half of the basketball game will be shown as usual, but MSC will
switch to hockey thereafter.
Basketball fans can turn to an alternate channel to watch the rest of that
game. The alternate channels are as follows:
Paragon Cable (Channel 8)
Meredith (14)
Continental (25)
King (21 in Northwest suburbs, 17 in Stillwater and South Washington County
and 35 in Hastings and Prescott)
U adds row to Mariucci
The University announced the sale of season tickets for a new row of assured
seating at Mariucci Arena beginning Wednesday. Sales will run through March
29.
The seats will be added prior to the 1996-97 season and will be located
where the standing-room area is now. With the addition of the 392 seats, the
capacity at Mariucci Arena will become 9,742.
Standing room will still be available, but will be pushed back to
accommodate the new row of seats.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
=A9The Minnesota Daily
Pam Sweeney
Go Gophers!
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