For any long-distance Gopher junkies, here's another Gopher pre-season report,
from the _Minnesota Daily_ gopher server, which seems to often cut off the last
letter of story titles, but at least you're not subjected to my typos!
 
Also, note the comments of 5'7" (according to the program...) Tony Bianchi
-Pam
 
Headline: Hockey Gophers hit the ic
Publish Date: 10/05/1993
 
.RM138PT/By David Jackson
 
Staff Reporter
 
The first day of Gopher hockey practice found Coach Doug Woog poised
as he approached his ninth season at the helm.
 
Standing at the west end of Mariucci Arena, leaning on his hockey
stick and watching his Golden Gophers, he showed all the aplomb of a
farmer leaning on his pitchfork, waiting to till his field.
 
On Monday the Gophers began formal practice for the 1993-94 season
with a variety of new faces and some old ones in new roles.
 
"The thing that's nice about our case is we always have some of the
leftovers," Woog said. "In most players' cases, it's a four-year deal
and it's fun for me to watch each one mature and succeed."
 
The Gophers must replace three seniors from last year's team, as well
as two underclassmen who have joined the U.S. Olympic team. In their
place is a promising group of recruits, the kind Minnesota seems to
consistently bring in year after year.
 
Team co-captain Jeff Nielsen said of the rookies: "They're gonna help
a lot. They came from good programs and they'll push guys for their
jobs."
 
Nick Checco, last year's Mr. Hockey in Minnesota, is one such
newcomer.
 
The freshman from Bloomington Jefferson High School said he is ready
to make the adjustments necessary to succeed in the college game.
 
"When we got to practice, we were looking around like `What the hell
are we supposed to do?' But once we got on the ice it felt good," he
said.
 
Woog was excited with his players' conditioning, and is anxious to
get the season underway.
 
"I'm excited about the way the seniors came to practice. They really
came out strong today. Everyone had a good tempo," Woog said.
 
The team must replace the scoring output of the two Olympians, Craig
Johnson and Darby Hendrickson. Nielsen said that the newcomers, with
time, will pick up the slack.
 
"It was a hard loss, but that just means those positions will have to
be won," the senior from Grand Rapids said. "People have to step in
and fill their roles."
 
Perhaps the team's biggest addition is the new 9,130-seat Mariucci
Arena. The sea of maroon and gold also features the largest ice
surface in college hockey, 100 feet by 200 feet.
 
"That's a big advantage," said senior forward Tony Bianchi. "At home,
we'll do well. We've got a lot of little munchkins who are gonna like
the big ice."
 
The Gophers open the season on that big ice in less than two weeks.
Mariucci Arena will be the site of the Hockey Hall of Fame Game
between the Gophers and Michigan Tech.
 
Defenseman Chris McAlpine, the team's other co-captain, said, "We're
just trying to get into shape right now and next week we've got a
game."
 
And a game against one of the WCHA's top teams, for that matter. But
the Gophers insist they'll be ready.
 
"The first weekend we're always kind of stuck in the mud. But this
year we'll start off the season early and ready for a game," Bianchi
said.
 
Pam Sweeney                            Go Gophers!!!
[log in to unmask]         1993 WCHA Playoff Champions!!!
[log in to unmask]              Ski-U-Mah!!!