Headline: Gopher, Badger coaches to face off once again
Publish Date: 02/25/1994
 
David Jackson
 
<W0I>Staff Reporter
 
In the small coaching fraternity of college hockey, few coaches have
competed against each other as often as Doug Woog and Jeff Sauer.
 
They grew up within a few miles of each other, played at rival high
schools and colleges and now stand behind their respective benches
for one of college hockey's biggest rivalries. Sauer's Wisconsin
Badgers host Woog's Gophers in a crucial series this weekend in
Madison, Wis.
 
The Badgers are tied for first place in the WCHA, ironically with
Sauer's alma mater Colorado College. The Gophers sit just one point
behind the two leaders. It seems like every time Minnesota plays
Wisconsin the magnitude is great, and the two coaches have developed
a mutual respect because of it.
 
``We've competed against each other a lot,'' Sauer said. ``It's been
really positive. You're friends when you get to the rink, then for 60
minutes you're brutal enemies and then you get to shake hands and
move on.''
 
Sauer played hockey at Washington High School in St. Paul, facing
Woog's South St. Paul Packers. Then Sauer headed off to Colorado
College and Woog stayed at home to play at Minnesota. They were two
different players in two different systems.
 
``Jeff was never a feisty type,'' Woog said. ``He was more of a
finesse player. I was a little nastier. I was a darter and a
forechecker. He was a shooter.''
 
As coaches though, they have found a major commonality: success.
Sauer, the dean of WCHA coaches, has won 483 games in his 23 years of
coaching. After spending 11 years at Colorado College, he succeeded
the legendary ``Badger'' Bob Johnson at Wisconsin and has won at
least 20 games in each of his 12 seasons.
 
Woog, in his ninth season at Minnesota, has won 267 games while
winning more than 70 percent of the time. Like Sauer, Woog inherited
a successful program and understands the pressure of maintaining the
high standards.
 
``You put a lot of pressure on yourself,'' Woog said. ``The more you
win, the more you expect it. I probably would have a hard time in any
other environment.''
 
Sauer agreed: ``A good program doesn't come naturally. You have to
work at it, and you have to develop it.''
 
At Wisconsin, the long-standing hockey tradition has been upstaged at
times this year by the emergence of the basketball and football
teams. But Sauer said that's been a blessing in disguise.
 
``When the football team was playing in the Rose Bowl and the
basketball team started out hot, we weren't playing well,'' he said.
``We were really scrambling, and that got us out of the spotlight.''
 
It was during that January stretch that the Gophers swept the Badgers
in Minneapolis, winning 5-2 at Mariucci Arena and 4-3 in overtime at
Target Center.
 
``Minnesota has really had Wisconsin's number this year in every
sport,'' Sauer said. ``I'm trying to use that as a motivational tool
for our players.''
 
That weekend was the only time the Badgers have been swept all
season, and they lost three more games in January. But they have made
a late move, winning five of their last six.
 
Meanwhile, Minnesota, which won nine in a row in January, triggered
by the Wisconsin sweep, is 2-3-1 this month.
 
``The only way we can win is to play extremely hard,'' Woog said.
``We're not going to score a lot of goals. We've had 30 games to
prove that.''
 
Pam Sweeney
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He's creepy and he's spooky,
mysterious and kooky.
He's altogether ooky,
the owner of the Stars!
(da-da-da dum)  Norm Sucks!
(da-da-da dum)  Norm Sucks!
(da-da-da dum da-da-da dum da-da-da dum)  Norm Sucks!