The Gophers did it again.
 
Now it is not the victory itself which prompts this phrase, but the
method of this victory.
 
Michigan State scores first, in the first. Minnesota ties it up to go
1-1 into the second.
 
Michigan State scores again, despite Gopher dominance through most of
the period, to lead 2-1 after two.
 
The third period is all Minnesota. Michigan State is outshot 16-2,
and the Gophers rally for two to win 3-2.
 
Sound familiar? It should. It is the same story from nearly every
game this season.
 
Now a few comments about the game, although I am sure others will
comment, as well.
 
Both Michigan State goals were Callinan's fault. he first was,
admittedly, on a power play, but from where I sat, it looked
stoppable. The defense, I admit, didn't help when they should have.
Overall, it was a disappointing performance by Minnesota's very
successful penalty killing unit.
 
The second goal came on a dump and chase attempt by Michigan State.
Callinan came WAY out of goal to go after it, and sent it down the
ice...right onto the stick of Anson Carter, who put it neatly into
the vacated net. Shades of Ed Belfour, roamin' the ice. I suspect
Woog had a few choice words for Callinan on that sequence.
 
And what was with Woog tonight? Last week, against Michigan Tech, he
juggled the lines, unsatisfied with the chemistry that had been
shown. Okay, I understand that. But Sunday seemed to be the right
chemistry, with Checco really looking good added to Bonin and McHugh
on that first line. Bell, Brink and Kraft looked like they worked
together on the second line as well. And the fourth line made its
presence felt all night long. Result: a 6-2 convincing victory for
the maroon and gold.
 
Now shift to last night's game (no pun intended). More line juggling.
Why? Now we have Bell on the first line, switching places with
Checco. And it just didn't work. Bell has the same tenacity and work
ethic of McHugh, and it is good to spread that out over different
lines. None of the lines seemed to really click, and it was only
because of the individual effort of McHugh (who got the hatrick) that
we won the game. M-C-H-U-G-H McHugh, McHugh, yeahhh, Justin!
 
Don't get me wrong; the team played much better in the third period
(as usual), and Bell had two assists on the night. But the lines
didn't seem to work, I thought.
 
The second period, perhaps because of this lack of clicking of the
lines, seemed terribly boring. Maybe it was because the time had
creeped past my bedtime, but I nearly fell asleep, which is a first
for a Gopher game. They sure didn't give the hometown fans anything
to cheer about throughout the second: a stupid goal, and couple of
weak power plays.
 
The play of #13 Moser, on the fourth line, was particularly weak.
After a strong game last Sunday, he seemed lost, misfiring passes and
taking dumb penalties. I doubt we will see him back in the line up
for tonight's game against Michigan.
 
I think the best player on the ice may have been #22 Anson Carter for
Michigan State. My oh my, is he impressive. He really handled the
puck well, could get around people, and contributed plenty of
high-octane effort. I wish we had him on our team.
 
The Spartans did a great job on the face-offs, winning the majority
of them, which helped them keep Minnesota from taking control of the
puck right away. Minnesota needs to improve on this for tonight.
 
Overall, however, Michigan State seemed to have their hands full.
Most of the game took place in the Spartan's zone. Buzak looked
competent in net, but not outstanding. He made plenty of saves, but
few of them required anything special.
 
Which brings me to my last point. After watching 11 Minnesota games
so far, I think I may have discovered their main problem. They get
plenty of shots on net, but they tend to be somewhat ordinary. A LOT
of shots into the chest of the opposing goalie. I keep thinking that
the netminder for each particular team is having the game of his
life, but now I am starting to think it is not quite as impressive as
I had originally thought (still impressive, mind you). Many of them
DO make some great saves, but more often than not, they seem to be
just poor shot choices by the Gophers. One of my companions at last
night's game suggested that she would rather have lower quality
shots, but lots of them; but I can't decide. Time will tell if it is
a wise strategy. There weren't ANY pretty goals in last night's game.
 
 
For tonight:
 
Key for Michigan State: slow down Wisconsin. If they skate as quickly
tonight as they did in the first period of last night's game,
Michigan State will have trouble with them. But if they can keep a
slower, more methodical game, the Spartans will do well.
 
Key for Minnesota: speed and passing. Michigan has a fast team, but I
think Minnesota's may be faster. But the passes need to connect, and
early on, if the Gophers want to stay in this one long enough to make
their third period magic. Use the speed to stay out of physical
match-ups, which I think Michigan would win.
 
P.S. Carol White couldn't make it to the game last night due to
illness. We missed you, Carol! Get well soon, and we hope you enjoy
the game (as much as you can) on MSC! See you back at Mariucci!
 
                                                Lee-nerd
                                                [log in to unmask]
 
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent." --Isaac Asimov