I was out of town this weekend in Madison, where I actually managed to catch
part of the telecast of Jon Michelizzi's shut-out of CC for the Badgers.  WE
had no telecast of the Gophs for me to tape, so my only info on the weekend
comes from the paper, so I'll include the article from the Minnesota Daily.
 
My brief summary is that the Gophers took out some of their
recent frustrations in the first period Friday night, skating to a 5-0 lead
before winning 7-4.  Saturday night the refs gave the tie
to DU  by disallowing a Minnesota goal and ruling a shot that apparently hit
the pipe a goal (the difference between 2-2 and 3-1 all in one call!)  Of
course, this is probably a partisan Minnesota interpretation, but it is the
FIRST thing my Dad told me about when I got back Sunday night.
 
Headline: Tie moves Gophers into third place
Publish Date: 11/23/1992
 
.RM288PT/By Patty Hegre
 
Staff Reporter
 
The Minnesota hockey team left Denver with a little more than
expected this weekend, gaining three points, a three-way tie for
third place in the WCHA and some much-needed confidence.
 
The Gophers snowed the Pioneers with five first-period goals for a
7-4 victory Friday night and skated to a 2-2 overtime tie amidst
controversy Saturday.
 
The three-point weekend was Minnesota's highest take-home total of
the season and moved the Gophers (3-3-4) into a tie for third place
in the WCHA with Michigan Tech (5-5) and Minnesota-Duluth (5-3).
Denver and Wisconsin are tied for first place in the league at 7-2-1.
 
"Friday night was a big boost for us because we needed a win and we
came in and outplayed them," said Gopher defenseman Chris McAlpine,
who had three goals and an assist this weekend. "We would have liked
to take home four points, but it's a pretty tight race right now and
three points wasn't too bad. Pretty soon some teams are going to pull
ahead and some are going to fall behind. I think we're going to be
pulling ahead because we get better in some way every week."
 
McAlpine netted his seventh goal of the season at 9:47 of the second
period Saturday night to tie the game at 1-1. The junior defenseman
fired a shot through traffic, beating DU goaltender Bryan Schoen for
the score.
 
A former Minnetonka Skipper, Schoen had 37 saves for Denver. On the
other end of the rink, Schoen's former high school teammate Jeff
Callinan had 27 saves for the Gophers.
 
According to some accounts, Callinan had one more save thanks to the
pipe in the second period, but referees Bob Ames and K.C Chermak saw
things differently.
 
The confusion started after Pioneer Craig McMillan unleashed a
slapshot from the left circle less than five minutes into the second
period with the score still tied 1-1.
 
There is no doubt that McMillian let go a good shot but what happened
next is still in dispute.
 
The goal judge flashed the red light for a split second but neither
referee blew the whistle, and both teams continued play.
 
The Gophers countered Denver's attack with a rush up the ice
resulting in Brian Bonin's goal at 4:25. While Minnesota gathered to
celebrate the go-ahead goal, Ames and Chermak consulted with the goal
judge and awarded the Pioneers a goal on McMillian's shot and
disallowed Bonin's.
 
"The video showed that the puck never went in the net, but sooner or
later we're due to get a break," Minnesota coach Doug Woog said. "The
good news is that we played hard and well, but we lost a point that
we're going to need later on."
 
Minnesota tied the game at 15:43 in the second period when Craig
Johnson picked up Bonin's rebound for a power-play goal, but the 2-2
draw stood as neither team scored in the third period or overtime.
 
In Friday night's game, the Gophers launched their strongest
offensive attack of the season scoring five goals in the opening 10
minutes for their biggest season lead.
 
McAlpine had 2 goals in the flurry, while Johnson, Joe Dziedzic and
Scott Bell also added to the 5-0 lead. Bell's goal was his first this
season.
 
In a fashion befitting their league-leading style, the Pioneers
responded with three goals, but Gopher Travis Richards iced the game
with two second-period goals.
 
"It was nice to score but the fact that we won was more important,"
said Richards, the Minnesota captain and an All-American candidate.
"We would have liked to win both and we should have, but I'm glad we
got at least one out there."
 
Tom Newman had 28 saves in the victory, while Schoen had five before
being replaced by Chris Burns at 6:07 in the first period. Burns
stopped 19 Minnesota shots.
 
 
 
 
Pam Sweeney
Go Gophers!!!