This was a very frustrating game to watch.  The margin of play was
better indicated by the Gophers 62-23 edge in shots, but Kirk
Daubenspeck was outstanding and his teammates were, uhm, efficient.
 
Due to a crisis at work, I arrived seven minutes in the game, just in
time to hear the PA system announce that Dan Woog had put Minnesota up
2-0.  From this point until the end of the second period, Wisconsin had
a total of two scoring opportunities and converted both of them.  One
was a short-handed breakaway after Mike Crowley fell down.  The other
was a screened blast from the face off circle that DeBus never saw.  Who
can blame him, on the 8th shot in 34 minutes.  These were pretty much
the only times that Wisconsin controlled the puck in their offensive
zone for more than two or three seconds.
 
Kirk Daubenspeck was unbelievable.  He was named the #2 star of the
game, but I would have put him at #1.  The Gophers could easily have
scored twelve times in the first two periods.  The shot total for the
first period was 25-1.  I would say that Dauber played like he had an
'S' on his chest, but Superman at least had the rest of the Justice
League to help him fight group villians.  He did spend an awful lot of
time complaining to the officials when I thought he would be better off
looking under rocks for his teammates, but he was fabulous.
 
The Gophers helped him a little by returning to some poor shooting.  Bil
Kohn, Erik Rasmussen and Dave Spehar among others tanked good scoring
opportunities when they were unable to put the puck within two feet of
the net.  This seems to be a trend for the team over the last couple of
years.
 
Wisconsin played a spirited third period and the Gophers looked like
they really wanted to getthe game over with.  I still thought that
Minnesota had the edge in play, but it was a nail-biter right down to
the end.  The Badgers came into the third only down one when it should
have been down six, and tried to pull one out.  Credit them with the
effort in the third, but the Gophs played good 'D' and Wisconsin was
unable to overcome two periods of lethargy.
 
Speaking of Erik Rasmussen, he has improved his play remarkably over the
last couple of weeks.  I take back none of my earlier criticisms, but he
has really elevated his game since then.  He is not putting the puck in
the net, but he is skating hard and getting good opportunities.  Best of
all, he has returned to being an EFFECTIVE physical presence rather than
just being a loose cannon.  He's laying down a lot of good hits and in
each of the last two games, I have watched him receive a shot after the
whistle and not retaliate, allowing an opponent to go to the box by
himself.  This is a whole new Rass, and I like what I see.
 
There was the mandatory non-enforcement of the checking-from-behind
rule.  Suffice it to say that I didn't think there was a 2-minute
checking-from-behind into the boards penalty anymore.
 
So, minnesota continues to play well.  If they keep this up, they should
be a force in the playoffs.  At least as long as Superman doesn't bring
Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and the rest some night.
 
J. Michael Neal
 
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