=46rom the Monday (2/12/96) Minnesota Daily, 2 articles, the first a game
story, the second a commentary on Woog starting Debus both nights.
Weekend split heightens rivalry
Matthew Cross - Staff Reporter
Colored laser beams cut through the darkened air at a sold-out
Mariucci Arena on Friday night.
Three Gophers emblems surrounded Colorado College's mascot at center ice and
pounced on the Tiger to the beat of blaring music, stirring the record crowd
into a frenzy.
This was the start to the most anticipated college hockey series this
season. Minnesota won 3-2 Friday, and Colorado College won 4-2 Saturday for
a split. It would have been a crime if it had finished any other way.
Only four years ago, Colorado College was 8-28 under former Gophers coach
Brad Buetow. That year, Minnesota won the WCHA Final Five and was in the
NCAA tournament for the ninth straight year.
Nobody would have thought Colorado College would be regarded as one [Image]
of the nation's best squads in 1996, a team that could outmatch the
Gophers.
Minnesota played what might have been its best game of the season to win
=46riday. The Gophers had defensive intensity and executed an almost perfect
forechecking gameplan -- a complete turnaround from last weekend's sweep at
the hands of North Dakota.
But Colorado College earned the split Saturday to regain a six-point lead
over Minnesota. That means the Tigers need only one victory or one Gophers
loss in the last four games to clinch the WCHA regular season title.
With Friday's win, however, Minnesota answered a question that loomed since
its 19-game unbeaten streak ended in a sweep at North Dakota: Are the
Gophers in Colorado College's category with the best teams in the country?
"After last weekend there were a lot of people second-guessing us and
wondering if we are as good as our streak," Gophers winger Casey Hankinson
said Friday. "We've got a lot of guys with character on this team, and I
think we proved ourselves tonight."
Minnesota's main goal right now is to prepare for the WCHA playoffs and the
NCAA regionals. This weekend was a good test for the younger players who
haven't experienced the high level of play.
In that respect, the Gophers found a consolation prize with their Friday win
that eased the sting of Saturday's loss.
"All this weekend says is that we can play with them," Minnesota sophomore
Ryan Kraft said. "If we get another crack, we know we can beat them. And
you're going to see another great hockey game."
=46reshman winger Erik Rasmussen was one of those young players who [Image=
]
passed all of Colorado College's tests. He finished the weekend as
the Gophers' top scorer with three assists including the game-winner on Mike
Crowley's goal Friday.
"We competed hard this weekend, and I think we're headed in the right
direction," Rasmussen said.
Gophers coach Doug Woog was frustrated with the Gophers' tough luck in the
third period Saturday. Minnesota created opportunities but failed to get the
puck past Tigers goaltender Judd Lambert.
"For the amount of time we spent in the offensive zone, we only had three
good scoring chances," Woog said. "We weren't physically there."
Minnesota center Brian Bonin had a goal and an assist this weekend, but
didn't even have a shot on goal during Saturday's game. He blamed himself
for the loss.
"The big guns didn't play well tonight," Bonin said. "And I put myself on
the top of the list. We just weren't getting the puck in deep."
Colorado College forced the Gophers to play a dump-and-chase style in the
second and third periods, which Woog said was the result of poor passing.
Neither team controlled the puck for a consistent attack.
"It was a well-played game if you don't like offense," Woog said. "We got
better in the last five minutes of the second period and worked hard through
the third but didn't get any rewards for it."
Colorado College was to blame for that as it reversed the intensity level
between teams during the second game with error-free play and flawless
offensive execution.
"This is obviously not what we wanted," Kraft said Saturday night. "(The
Tigers) didn't make any mistakes, and we didn't do much to force mistakes.
They deserve to be where they are."
It seems odd to think that the Gophers are suddenly chasing Colorado College
for bragging rights in the WCHA.
The rivalry between the teams began quickly and grew intense in only a few
years, and one can only believe that it will grow more heated in years to
come.
=46RIDAY'S SUMMARY
Gophers 0 2 1 -- 3
Colorado College 0 1 1 -- 2
=46irst Period: No scoring.
Second Period: Min -- Brian Bonin 23 (Rasmussen, Trebil) PPG 1:10. Min --
Jason Godbout 4 (Bertogliat, Woog) 2:25. CC -- Darren Clark 11 (B. Swanson,
Rud) 3:12.
Third Period: CC -- Brian Swanson 18 (unassisted) 2:15. Min -- Mike Crowley
13 (Rasmussen) PPG 17:52.
SATURDAY'S SUMMARY
Colorado College 3 0 1 -- 4
Gophers 1 1 0 -- 2
=46irst Period: CC -- Jay McNeill 22 (Hartnell, Remackel) 4:42. CC -- Stewar=
t
Bodtker 5 (B. Swanson) SHG 8:36. Min -- Dave Larson 11 (Rasmussen, Bonin)
PPG 16:32. CC -- Peter Geronazzo 27 (Clark) PPG 18:28.
Second Period: Min -- Reggie Berg 16 (Larson, Brink) 16:39.
Third Period: Darren Clark 12 (B. Swanson, Bodtker) 14:53.
Notes: Gophers winger Jesse Bertogliat did not play Saturday because of a
moderately sprained left knee, which he suffered during Friday's game. He
will be out of the lineup for three to six weeks.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
=A9The Minnesota Daily
Woog makes tough call in U's net
The top four goalies in the WCHA were all at Mariucci Arena this weekend.
Only three of them, however, saw any flying rubber.
Minnesota's Jeff Moen -- unlike Steve DeBus, Ryan Bach and Judd Lambert --
was unseen except for during pre-game warm-ups and pre-period skate-arounds.
Gophers coach Doug Woog decided to give DeBus, a sophomore, both starts in
Minnesota's most critical series of the season. This weekend marked the
first time all year that Moen, a senior, didn't start the first game of a
two-game series.
By breaking up the tandem that had carried the Gophers to a 23-5-2 overall
record, Woog generated the potential for criticism. If DeBus had bombed this
weekend, members of the media would have stapled his coach to the lineup
card.
Instead, DeBus had a good weekend. He was very solid in Minnesota's 3-2 win
=46riday night. A brick wall couldn't have saved two of Colorado College's
goals in the Gophers' 4-2 loss Saturday night.
Woog said his main reason for starting DeBus in both games was that he
wanted his goalies to be able to play two games in a weekend. That will
happen if the Gophers are forced into a third game in the best 2-of-3 first
round of the WCHA playoffs. Last week Woog said his plan was to start Moen
both games against St. Cloud State, Minnesota's next opponent.
Woog doesn't come off looking like a genius for making his decision. Crafty
is probably a better word for it.
There is a big difference between Colorado College and St. Cloud State.
Sure, both goalies will get a shot at back-to-back games, but the situations
are much different.
Two wins this weekend would have put Minnesota within striking distance of
Colorado College. The split, however, leaves Minnesota firmly entrenched in
second place, six points behind the Tigers and six points ahead of Denver
with four games left. Next weekend's series against St. Cloud State is
relatively meaningless.
Playing DeBus this weekend and Moen next weekend was Woog's way of naming
DeBus his No. 1 goaltender. Considering both goalies have split time right
down the middle this season, that task was like standing up in a canoe to
get a better view of the lake.
But the Gophers' boat remained steady. Neither goalie's ego tipped over;
both players said they were comfortable with the situation.
A quick glance at the surface statistics doesn't reveal a whole lot of
difference between the two netminders. Going into this weekend DeBus, the
No. 2 goalie in the WCHA, had a 12-3 record and a 2.40 goals against
average. Moen, the No. 3 goalie in the WCHA, was 11-2-2 with a 2.70 goals
against average. Both goalies have three shutouts to their credit.
But DeBus has been the more dominating of the two. He has allowed more than
two goals only five times this season, including a streak of 10 straight
games. Moen has allowed more than two goals nine times.
DeBus also seems to exude more confidence than Moen. That was even evident
last weekend, when both goalies were getting pasted by North Dakota. On
Moen's bad evening, he was flailing around like a rainbow trout. DeBus held
his ground and gave the Gophers a chance to win.
This is not to say Moen is a bad goaltender. Anyone with his numbers must be
doing a lot of things right. It's just that DeBus plays a little bit better.
=46or most of the season -- particularly during Minnesota's 19-game unbeaten
streak -- the slim difference between the two didn't seem to matter.
But in a series between top teams, anything but the best won't cut it.
Colorado College coach Don Lucia -- who is in the same situation with
goaltenders Bach and Lambert -- probably summed things up best after
Saturday night's game: "I know DeBus and Moen are both good goaltenders, but
I wasn't surprised that DeBus played both games," Lucia said "I don't know
Minnesota. It's up to their coaching staff to make those types of
decisions."
Woog didn't have to take the chance he did, but the Gophers will be stronger
for it in the long run.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
=A9The Minnesota Daily
Pam Sweeney
Go Gophers!
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