Well, in a game that Minnesota didn't play well in, you can't expect
a win.
 
And in a game Northern Michigan didn't play well in, they can't
expect a win, either.
 
So the 2-2 tie was fitting. The teams took the ice in what was, or so
I thought, a boring, unremarkable game. Neither teams skated well,
neither team passed well, and neither scored well.
 
Coming off a fine performance against BU in the Mariucci classic, I
expected Minnesota to play a tough, solid hockey game. The BU boys
are not small, and played some physical hockey, so I expected the
Gophers to be somewhat prepared for.
 
The biggest adjustment for the players may have been the rink. After
the huge ice sheet at Mariucci, the tiny ice in Marquette made me
think that I was watching the teams skate around in my freezer. It
helped, although not all that much, when the teams were 4X4.
 
The second period, in particular, was played poorly by both teams.
 
But the thing that struck me was how much this Minnesota team played
unlike it had in previous games. I guess that to start the new year,
the Gophers have decided to try a new game plan: score first and then
give up leads, don't play good defense, and let the other team play a
tougher third period.
 
But overall, one couldn't feel too bad about this game. The Gophers
got out of it with a point, and that is good. NMU is always tough at
home, and one point is better than none.
 
                                                Lee-nerd
                                                [log in to unmask]
 
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent." --Isaac Asimov