http://www.pioneerplanet.com/sports/hockey/docs/029770.htm
        Woog can't find fault with Gophers
 
And, from today's (2/26/96) Minnesota Daily:
 
U's decline continues at Wisconsin
 
Jeff Sherry - Staff Reporter
 
MADISON, Wis. -- A rubber garbage can sat outside
the Gophers hockey team's locker room at the Dane County Coliseum. Among the
typical trash -- crushed Pepsi cans, empty cigarette packs and scratched-off
lottery tickets -- stood a broken goalie stick.
 
It belonged to Gophers sophomore Steve DeBus. DeBus, who is best known for
his composed play in goal for Minnesota, rendered the stick useless when he
slammed it against a nearby pillar after Saturday's game. And DeBus wasn't
even the team's most upset player.
 
Such a reaction could have been expected. Minnesota continued its string of
struggling play by losing a pair of stinging, emotional contests to rival
Wisconsin. But it wasn't so much the 6-3 and 7-4 scores that made the series
so painful -- it was how the Gophers lost and where those losses leave the
team going into this weekend's WCHA playoffs.
 
The losses represented the Gophers' first sweep at the hands of the Badgers
since 1986. The losses also bring the team's record to 2-6 for the month,
Minnesota's worst February record since going 1-7 in 1967. Perhaps the
hardest thing to swallow was that the Gophers led, 4-0, on Saturday before
being barraged with seven straight Wisconsin goals.
 
And all this happened with what Gophers coach Doug Woog called one of his
team's best efforts of the season.
 
"I thought we had a win-at-all-costs type of attitude tonight, and it didn't
seem like it was enough to get it done," Woog said. "We had opportunities,
but again, we didn't put them away. We just couldn't make a play. It's not a
fun experience."
 
The numbers clearly show how many chances the Gophers had. Minnesota held a
98-55 shots-on-goal advantage for the weekend but did not get the close
rebound chances Wisconsin had. Much of that had to do with the stellar
goaltending of the Badgers' Kirk Daubenspeck and the energy generated by
rowdy crowds.
 
They capitalized on everything they had," Gophers defenseman Dan Trebil said
after the Badgers' comeback Saturday. "It's kind of weird, I can't really
put a finger on an exact moment or exact thing that turned the game around.
They stormed us and we didn't respond as well as we could have."
 
The Gophers were forced to play with one less skater than usual on Saturday
night because of a fight at the end of Friday's game. Minnesota forwards
Casey Hankinson and Mike Anderson received the team's first fighting
disqualifications of the season near the end of the third period. They
brawled with Wisconsin's Brad Englehart and E.J. Bradley, who also received
fighting disqualifications.
 
Senior Bobby Dustin stepped into the lineup Saturday, but the team was still
short of four full lines up front.
 
The Gophers will get their opportunity to get back on track Friday night at
Mariucci Arena against Alaska-Anchorage. The losses over the weekend didn't
affect Minnesota's second-place standing in the WCHA, but it could affect
the team's confidence.
 
Co-captain Trebil said the team has to remain upbeat and step up its play
for the postseason.
 
"We're definitely going to have to buckle down," Trebil said. "There's a
little concern, but I think we're going to have to use that concern to help
us. We can't go into the playoffs with an attitude of, 'What's going on?
What are we going to do?' We've got to put it on the line every day in
practice and have everyone be positive all week."
 
Keeping a positive approach will be no problem for the Badgers this week as
they prepare for their playoff series at North Dakota. Wisconsin is now
unbeaten (7-0-2) in its last nine games, and its players said they think
they're playing well enough to win the WCHA playoffs.
 
But regardless of how they do in the playoffs, the Badgers' seniors said
they will never forget their last home series against the Gophers.
 
"This series was head and shoulders above any other one I can remember,"
Badgers senior Mickey Elick said. "It's like that feeling you get when
you're watching an exciting movie and at the end the good guy walks away
with the girl. You get those chills through your body. I'm getting them
right now just talking about it."
 
=46RIDAY'S SUMMARY
 
Minnesota 0 1 2 -- 3
 
Wisconsin 1 1 4 -- 6
 
=46irst period: Wis -- Williams 14 (Enrico, Strobel), 4:33.
 
Second period: Wis -- Strobel 17 (Carter, Elick), PPG 12:13. Min -- Moser 7
(Rasmussen), 18:56.
 
Third period: Wis -- Haley 7 (Sabo, Daubenspeck), SHG 5:03. Wis -- Howard 8
(Bianchi, Haley), 9:43. Min -- Crowley 14 (Rasmussen, Kraft), 11:05. Wis --
Enrico 9 (Williams, Strobel), ENG 15:39. Wis -- Enrico 10 (Elick, Williams),
18:22. Min -- Bonin 28 (Crowley, Trebil), PPG 19:05.
 
SATURDAY'S SUMMARY
 
Minnesota 2 2 0 -- 4
 
Wisconsin 0 2 5 -- 7
 
=46irst period: Min -- Dustin 3 (Crowley, Rasmussen), 2:41. Min -- Godbout 5
(LaFleur, Hendrickson), 13:22.
 
Second period: Min -- Rasmussen 13 (unassisted), 4:53. Min -- Bonin 29
(Trebil, Rasmussen), PPG 7:36. Wis -- Elick 11 (Williams), 9:07. Wis --
Howard 9 (Carter, Rothering), 15:01.
 
Third period: Wis -- Carter 17 (Elick), PPG 2:59. Wis -- Sanderson 10
(Bianchi), 9:51. Wis -- Williams 15 (LaPlante), 16:20. Wis -- Elick 12
(unassisted), ENG 19:28. Wis -- Williams 16 (Carter), 19:50.
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-
=A9The Minnesota Daily
 
Pam Sweeney
Go Gophers!!!
Ski-U-Mah!!!
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.