Headline: CATS01.STO
Publish Date: 01/31/1994
 
David Jackson
 
Staff Reporter
 
In November, Northern Michigan gave the Gopher hockey team a look at
its home-ice advantage, sweeping Minnesota to send them reeling into
last place in the WCHA.
 
This weekend the Gophers showed the Wildcats their own version of the
home-ice advantage with a pair of 4-2 wins. With the win on Saturday,
Minnesota moved into first place in the conference, one point ahead
of second-place Colorado College. It was the Gophers' eighth straight
win and the continuation of a 13-1-2 stretch within the conference
that brought them from last to first in less than three months.
 
``These Minnesota guys that everyone was ripping on are pretty
good,'' Gopher coach Doug Woog said.
 
Senior wing Jeff Nielsen credits the team with not worrying about its
early-season troubles.
 
``The biggest thing for us is that there are no peaks and valleys,''
he said. ``Nobody talked about where we were when we were in last
place. Now nobody's talking about being in first place.''
 
Everyone should be talking about Nielsen's play Saturday. He scored
two goals and set up another, and he had a third goal disallowed late
in the first period when he was called for holding on the play.
 
After Bobby Dustin made it 1-0 by converting Chris McAlpine's pass at
5:23 of the first period, Nielsen doubled the lead when he scored on
a rebound of McAlpine's shot. McAlpine took a long outlet pass from
Dan Woog in the Northern Michigan zone, beating the defense to get a
clean look at the net. Wildcat goalie Dieter Kochan made the save on
McAlpine's shot, but Nielsen fought through Scott Green's check to
backhand the rebound into the net.
 
Nielsen could have had his second goal late in the period, but he was
assessed a holding penalty as he converted Woog's centering pass.
 
``I asked the referee how I could shoot with two hands and still hold
the guy,'' Nielsen said. ``I don't know where I got the third hand.''
 
But Nielsen did get his second goal at a crucial moment early in the
second period, after Dean Seymour had cut the lead to one with a
blistering slap shot past goalie Jeff Moen.
 
On the power play, Brian Bonin sent the puck to Dan Trebil at the
point. Trebil released a wrist shot that would have gone wide, but
Nielsen was positioned at the right post and redirected the shot
through Kochan's pads. The lead remained 3-1 through two periods.
 
Still with first place within their grasp, the Gophers began to
choke. McAlpine was assessed a game disqualification penalty for
spearing Northern Michigan's Steve Carpenter at 7:26 of the third
period. It was McAlpine's second game disqualification of the year,
and, if upheld, will cost him two games: next weekend's series
against Minnesota-Duluth at Mariucci Arena.
 
(Note:  It'll be upheld.  The league upheld his first DQ, even though the head
of officials admits they wouldn't have called it in any game since. -Pam)
 
With the Wildcats already on a power play, the spear created a 5-on-3
opportunity. Bryan Ganz made the most of the chance, sliding a
rebound past a fallen Moen at 8:08 of the period. But the Gophers
killed off the rest of the five-minute penalty and received a
thunderous standing ovation from the crowd of 9,326.
 
``I got caught flopping around on the goal,'' said Moen, who made 24
saves. ``I knew I went down too early. But once we killed off the
penalty, it was a big momentum shift. That's what the home-ice
advantage is all about, to have a crowd that can give you that extra
push.''
 
Nielsen then set up Bonin's insurance goal, taking a loose puck
behind the net, skating to the left post to draw two defensemen
toward him, and sliding the puck to Bonin, who had just come onto the
ice. The sophomore stuffed the puck under Kochan's right pad for his
team-leading 17th goal of the season and a spot in first place for
the team that was once 0-5-1.
 
``We earned our way to where we were (in last place), we've earned
our way to where we are, and we've got to keep earning,'' Doug Woog
said. ``We knew we had to get at least a split and at best a double
take.''
 
On Friday, two power-play goals and a short-handed goal gave the
Gophers all the offense they would need in a game they dominated with
a 34-20 shot advantage.
 
Tony Bianchi scored the short-handed goal by tipping a pass out of
his own zone and winning the footrace to create a breakaway which he
converted.
 
Eric Means scored on the power play with a slap shot from the point
in the third period, and, on the Wildcats' next penalty, Means took
another slap shot that Joe Dziedzic tipped past goalie Paul Taylor.
 
``I wouldn't say that we're unbeatable,'' Means said after the game.
``But I think we're confident that we can beat anybody if we play
hard and smart.''
 
 
 
Pam Sweeney                            Go Gophers!!!
[log in to unmask]         1993 WCHA Playoff Champions!!!
[log in to unmask]              Ski-U-Mah!!!