An article from the Minnesota Daily (also available via Gopher):
 
Headline: Gophers, arena debut tonight
Publish Date: 10/15/1993
 
rRM138PT_By David Jackson
 
Staff Reporter
 
All the waiting has come to end. The Gopher hockey team will play its
first-ever game at the new Mariucci Arena tonight as they host
Michigan Tech in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at 7:05.
 
For the Gopher players and Coach Doug Woog, the biggest change will
be the new ice surface. Mariucci Arena's ice is 100 feet wide, making
it one of the widest rinks in the country and one of only three
Olympic-size rinks in the WCHA.
 
Woog has redesigned the offense to prepare for the new surface. The
Gophers forward lines now will feature a defensive specialist at left
wing, with the center and right wing chasing the puck.
 
Joe Dziedzic, the left wing on a line with Brian Bonin and Justin
McHugh, said his responsibility will be digging the puck out of the
corners in the defensive zone and staying high in the offensive zone
as a target for his linemates' passes.
 
"It's more responsibility," Dziedzic said. "But it's a chance to
score more."
 
Dziedzic explained that staying high will give him more of a chance
to pounce on rebounds. And McHugh said Dziedzic will play a big role
on the line.
 
"With Joe's hard shot, we're definitely going to get him the puck,"
McHugh said.
 
Dziedzic is just one player Woog will rely on to replace the scoring
lost when Craig Johnson and Darby Hendrickson left for the Olympic
team.
 
Co-captain Jeff Nielsen is another key. Woog calls him "the most
prolific scorer and most experienced player up front." Nielsen is the
leading scorer among the returnees with 21 goals last season.
 
On defense, Woog is confident with a group the nucleus of which is a
strong sophomore class. Greg Zwakman, Charlie Wasley and Dan Trebil
saw significant playing time as freshmen and now know the conference.
 
"Last year they were brand-new. This year they're just young," Woog
said.
 
The defensemen will also benefit from the new rink, which will spread
out the action and give them a chance to move up into the offense.
 
The best of the group is senior Chris McAlpine, a player for whom the
rink is practically custom-made.
 
"I gamble a bit too much," he admitted. But McAlpine's gambles often
result in scoring opportunities. He scored 14 goals last year, most
among Gopher defensemen.
 
The Minnesota offense will get a big test in its first game. Manning
the net for Michigan Tech is senior Jamie Ram, the best goalie in the
WCHA and one of the best in the country.
 
Bonin, for one, is not intimidated.
 
"I'm always thinking, `The goalie is never good enough to make a
save. When I miss, it's my miss.'"
 
The Gophers missed a lot in their last meeting with the Huskies, a
10-2 pasting in Houghton, Mich., on the weekend of Tech's winter
carnival. Goalie Jeff Callinan, who started that game and will start
tonight, said "It seemed like every time they touched the puck, they
scored."
 
Woog knows that can't happen this year.
 
"We have to win some 2-1 games early," he said. "If we try to play a
59-56 game, we can't win."
 
Gopher notes: Since the game is an exhibition, both teams are allowed
to dress as many players as they wish. Woog said both Jeff Moen and
Steve Green will see action in goal tonight.
 
Injuries will keep Dave Larson (shoulder) and Mike McAlpine (ribs)
out of action. Woog also has decided to redshirt freshman defenseman
Brett Abrahamson.
 
Before the game, the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame will honor its 1993
inductees -- Peanuts creator Charles Schulz, Pittsburgh Penguins
president Jack Kelley and former NHL star Dave Langevin.
 
<<end of article>>
 
Note:  the 59-56 score is a reference to the football Gopher's strange
victory over Purdue last weekend.
 
-- Erik
   GO GOPHERS!
   SKI-U-MAH!