From the Minnesota Daily today -- an article on the Minnesota Gopher Olympic
prospects.
-Carol
 
HEADLINE:  FOUR AIMING FOR OLYMPICS
Publish Date: 06/15/1993
By Joe Christensen
and Patty Hegre
For The Daily
 
As the new Mariucci Arena nears completion, Minnesota hockey fans
will have more than the excitement of watching the Gophers inaugurate
their new building as four players try out for the 1994 U.S. Olympic
hockey team this week in Lake Placid, N.Y.
 
If selected, Craig Johnson, Jeff Nielsen, Chris McAlpine and Darby
Hendrickson will make a return trip in August to New York for the
final selection camp, where 23 players will be chosen for an
exhibition squad.
 
After the final cut, the 20 remaining players will compete at the
Winter Olympic Games Feb. 12-27 in Lillehammer, Norway. The Minnesota
players who make the team will miss the upcoming NCAA season but will
retain their eligibility.
 
The Gopher hockey team last faced a possible loss of players in 1992
when Johnson, Travis Richards, Larry Olimb and Trent Klatt made it to
the final camp but did not make the team.
 
It was the first time since 1944 that a U.S. Olympic hockey squad
competed with no Minnesota players on the roster.
 
While the Gopher players are apprehensive about missing the NCAA
season, dreams of representing their country help overcome those
initial feelings.
 
``Just to play for the Olympic team would be an unbelievable chance
of a lifetime,'' Hendrickson said before leaving for Lake Placid last
week. ``I'd love to make the team. It's been a goal of mine for my
whole life.''
 
McAlpine called the process ``a no-lose situation.''
 
Hendrickson said he agreed because the players will gain a lot of
experience playing against elite competition.
 
``It will definitely help me next year no matter where I'm playing,''
Hendrickson said. He said he would also enjoy playing in the new
arena this fall with his brother, Dan, an incoming recruit from
Richfield.
 
Gopher coach Doug Woog said that based on last year's performance,
Johnson and Richards, a senior captain last season, are strong
candidates for the U.S. team. Johnson, Nielsen and Richards were the
Gophers' top three scorers last season.
 
``Craig has raised his performance level and he's the strongest
two-way player on the team,'' Woog said. ``There's no question that
we'd miss him. He's a 30-goal scorer. It's a bummer for us but it's a
good opportunity for him.
 
Johnson finished with 46 points in 42 games. Hendrickson, who missed
11 games with a separated shoulder, finished with 27 points.
 
``Darby's situation is a little bit more uncertain,'' Woog said. ``He
didn't have that great of numbers this year but he works harder than
anyone else and his dedication is worth something.''
 
McAlpine said Richards has a great shot at making the team.
 
``In my opinion he's one of the best defensemen in the country,''
said McAlpine, a fellow blueliner.
 
But Richards, who signed a minor league contract with the Dallas
Stars, won't be missed as much as the three returning seniors and
Hendrickson, who will be a junior.
 
``The team knows that we can adjust if somebody makes it,'' McAlpine
said.
 
Gopher teams have traditionally adjusted, as in 1980, when Gopher
coach Herb Brooks led 10 Minnesota players to gold medals and a
``miraculous'' win over the Russians.
 
Gopher notes: Nielsen was invited to the first camp, which
Hendrickson attended from May 30 to June 6. Nielsen, however,
competed with the men's golf team at the NCAA championships.