Two articles from today's (1/29/96) Minnesota Daily follow:
Hat tricks give players needed lift
Jeff Sherry - Staff Reporter
Gophers forwards Dan Woog and Jay Moser entered the weekend
with a combined three goals on the season. They left the weekend having
scored three goals a piece in a single game.
"If I was a betting man I probably wouldn't have bet on it," Moser said.
It's hard to blame him. Until recently, Woog and Moser have had mostly
frustrating seasons. But their hat tricks -- Woog's on Friday and Moser's on
Saturday -- restored both players' optimism.
Moser, who played defense at St. Cloud State for two years before
transferring to Minnesota last season, needed great patience to endure the
first half of this season. Because of the Gophers' logjam of talent on
defense, Moser had to sit out the first 18 games.
He finally got to play Dec. 27 in an exhibition game against the Swiss
Selects team at forward. The new position has allowed Moser to utilize his
skating ability and quick moves with the puck. Since then he has played at
least one game in every series.
Woog said the move to offense has been good for Moser and the team.
"His main problem on defense was his defense," Gophers coach Doug Woog said.
"He really has good hands and has shown some nice moves up front."
Moser said he still isn't completely adjusted to his new position but that
he's learning. And more importantly, he's playing.
"I'm going to play wherever, whenever they say," Moser said. "I'm not going
to think about it. I just want to go out there and try to make things
happen."
Dan Woog's frustration has come from different circumstances. Prior to this
weekend, Woog had played in every game for Minnesota. Yet in those 26
contests Woog scored only two goals.
It got to the point where Coach Woog, Dan's father, decided Thursday that he
would give him the night off on Saturday and let someone else get some
playing time. Little did he know then that his son would score the first hat
trick of his career in the team's 10-0 romp of Northern Michigan.
"How about that?" Coach Woog said. "He gets a hat trick and the old man sits
him the next night."
But while the timing to sit Dan may not have been very good, Coach Woog said
the timing for his big night couldn't have been better.
"It's a nice thing for him because things haven't been going very good,"
Coach Woog said. "He's pretty composed, but you could tell he was getting a
little frustrated and a little anxious. So this takes him off the hook a
little bit."
Speaking of timing, Dan picked a good night for the first multigoal game of
his career. Friday night was his dad's 52nd birthday. And the junior from
South St. Paul said he didn't get him anything.
"I haven't really had a chance," Dan said. "I had a test this week and some
other stuff going on. Then I forgot about it for a couple days. And my mom's
out of town -- she's in Europe or something. She's usually there to remind
me if I call home.
"But he doesn't need much. I'm sure this is just as good as anything I
could've given him."
Boston gets swept
Minnesota could move up in the national rankings when the new polls are
released today. Massachusetts-Lowell swept top-ranked Boston University over
the weekend. Those losses, combined with Colorado College's tie and the
Gophers' routs of the Wildcats, should get Minnesota some first-place votes.
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=A9The Minnesota Daily
Are you serious? U wins 10-0, 7-0
Jeff Sherry - Staff Reporter
When the red-hot Gophers hockey team hosted
last-place Northern Michigan this weekend the question wasn't whether
Minnesota would win, but by how much.
The match-up was like a rusty Pinto traveling on the Autobahn to race a
floor-model Porsche -- everyone had a feeling the result would be a
blow-out.
And it was. With team records and streaks flying in all directions,
Minnesota shut down the Wildcats, 10-0 and 7-0, and moved within two points
of first-place Colorado College, which tied at Alaska-Anchorage on Saturday,
4-4.
"I really couldn't ask for much more this weekend," Gophers coach Doug Woog
said. "Obviously the Wildcats are down this year, but I like the way we're
playing."
The wins extended Minnesota's unbeaten streak to a team-record 19 games and
clinched home ice in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. Coming off last
Saturday's 5-0 defeat of Wisconsin, the Gophers now have three straight
shutouts for the first time since 1988.
Minnesota dominated in every phase of the game.
On offense: The Gophers' 17 goals and 94 shots on goal were both season
highs for a single series.
On defense: Minnesota allowed a total of 31 shots on goal -- the fewest in a
series this season -- while helping preserve the shutouts. Only a handful of
those shots were quality opportunities.
In goal: Behind the combination of Jeff Moen and Steve DeBus, Minnesota has
now gone over 192 minutes without allowing a goal. The duo set a team record
Saturday with its sixth shutout of the season.
It was also a memorable weekend for Coach Woog, who celebrated his 52nd
birthday on Friday by watching his son Dan score his first career hat trick.
Put it all together and it made for one of the most lopsided weekends in
Gophers hockey history. The 17-goal differential was the largest since 1986
when Minnesota thumped Maine, 8-3 and 16-2.
Minnesota controlled play from the onset of both games, but couldn't get big
leads until the second period. The Wildcats turned over the puck several
times in their own end on Friday and it eventually cost them.
The first and perhaps the most costly turnover goal came at the end of the
first period Friday. Gophers forward Ryan Kraft stole the puck from the
Wildcats' Jason Welch and converted a breakaway to a short-handed goal and a
2-0 lead.
Minnesota capitalized on three other turnovers in the second period.
Northern Michigan goalie Dieter Kochan was burned twice after losing the
puck outside his net. And defenseman Brian LaFleur beat Northern's second
goalie, Jason Mitchell, after intercepting a cross-ice pass near the end of
the period.
In addition to Dan Woog's hat trick, freshman Reggie Berg scored twice
=46riday and Moen made 11 saves for his third shutout of the year. Moen said
it was the fewest shots he's ever faced in his career.
Saturday's game featured another stellar performance in net by DeBus and a
breakthrough showing by senior winger Jay Moser. Moser, a converted
defenseman who didn't play unt il winter break, scored three goals. He also
scored Friday.
DeBus solidified his position as the nation's hottest goaltender by earning
his second consecutive shutout. DeBus now has another streak to go along
with his personal 12 straight wins -- the sophomore has gone over 155
minutes without allowing a goal.
Even though he faced only 20 shots on goal, DeBus nearly lost the shutout on
three occasions. Two shots rang off the goalpost, and he made a dramatic
save on a third-period breakaway by the Wildcats' Dean Seymour.
"This is the best I've ever done personally," DeBus said. But then again,
this is the best team I've ever played on in my whole entire life. It's a
credit to this team. It's just such a great feeling to go out there knowing
I have this team in front of me. It makes my job so much easier."
Minnesota won't have much time to enjoy its weekend. Its six-game homestand
is over, and the team faces a tough road series at North Dakota on Friday
and Saturday. The following weekend Colorado College comes to town.
"We're going to have to move it up another notch," Woog said. "North Dakota
will be a good test for us. We need that right now. We're playing with a
great deal of confidence, but things are about to get tougher for us."
=46RIDAY'S SUMMARY
Northern Michigan 0 0 0 - 0
Minnesota 2 5 3 - 10
=46irst period: Min -- Hankinson 14 (Rasmussen, Bonin), PPG 14:42. Min --
Kraft 12 (unassisted), SHG 19:07.
Second period: Min -- Berg 14 (Moser), 1:44. Min -- Trebil 9 (Crowley,
Bonin), PPG 3:37. Min -- Woog 3 (Checco), 4:44. Min -- Berg 15 (LaFleur,
Kraft), 14:03. Min -- LaFleur 5 (unassisted), 17:21.
Third period: Min -- Woog 4 (Crowley), 7:04. Min -- Woog 5 (Anderson,
Crowley), 10:12. Min -- Moser 2 (Kraft, Berg), 18:05.
SATURDAY'S SUMMARY
Northern Michigan 0 0 0 - 0
Minnesota 1 3 3 - 9
=46irst period: Min -- Rasmussen 8 (Bonin, Hankinson), PPG 18:40.
Second period: Min -- Moser 3 (Berg, Kraft), 10:22. Min -- Bonin 21
(Zwakman), 17:13. Min -- Trebil 10 (Kraft, Berg), PPG 18:28.
Third period: Min -- Moser 4 (Berg, Kohn), 6:51. Min -- LaFleur 6 (Smith,
Checco), 9:07. Min -- Moser 5 (Kraft), 16:19.
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=A9The Minnesota Daily
Pam Sweeney
Go Gophers!
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