Yep, that's right, Providence 4, Minnesota 3 on Friday night at Mariucci
Arena. The Gophers apparently never got their wakeup call, and slept
through the first period allowing Providence to skate to a 2-0 lead. The
Friars' first goal came as they were skating two men short. I don't
remember the fellow's name, but he roared in on a breakaway to beat
Gopher goalie Jeff Stolp. The Gophers played a much better second period,
peppering the Providence goalie with something like 18 shots, of which two
went in. Providence also picked up a goal, and led 3-2 after two periods.
The Gophers tied the game at 3 early in the third, but then took one of
the stupidest penalties I have seen all season. A freshman Gopher
defenseman who shall go nameless here lost his helmet, then played the
puck in an effort to clear the zone before returning to the bench. That
misjudgment cost him a visit to the penalty box, and Providence scored the
game-winner on the power play. The Gophers tried hard to tie the game
in the remaining minutes, but were too disorganized to accomplish the
feat. I think they were as amazed as the crowd.
All in all, a rather poor effort by the Gophers, and an impressive
effort by Providence. I think the Gophers will play three solid periods
tomorrow night and take the series to a third game, but they will have
to do a lot better than they did tonight.
Providence's band was at the game, but they were not up to what we have
come to expect from visiting bands in the NCAA playoffs the past few years
(Clarkson, Michigan State, Wisconsin). Still, I think that this is the
first time in all the years I have been going to Mariucci Arena that the
Gophers have lost a game when the opposing team's band was there.
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Erik Biever --GOLDEN GOPHER MMMMM MMMMM
St. Paul, Minnesota - Home of the --HOCKEY MM MM MM MM
1991 WCHA & NCAA Championships --Fastest Game MM MMMM MM
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