What you've all been waiting for: a post without the M-word in it (the five-letter one, at least! :-) ). Headline: Gophers will have Means for playoff tilt with Denver Publish Date: 03/11/1994 David Jackson Staff Reporter The slate is now wiped clean. The Gopher hockey team finished second in the WCHA, while Denver was ninth. But starting this weekend, both teams are 0-0. The Gophers host the Pioneers this weekend in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. It's a best-of-three series with no ties allowed. Minnesota has handled the Pioneers this season with three wins and a tie in their four meetings. But none of the games has been particularly easy. In the teams' first meeting at Mariucci Arena in November, the Pioneers used a 50-save performance by goalie Sinuhe Wallinheimo to salvage a tie at 3. The next night, it was the Gophers who were outshot by a wide margin but had the hot goalie, Jeff Moen. Moen made 34 saves to win his first college game, 4-3. The Gophers swept the Pioneers in January at the Denver University Arena, rallying from a 4-1 deficit the first night to win 6-5 in overtime, when Dave Larson scored with just 17 seconds left in the extra session. The following night, Minnesota scored four unanswered goals in the third period, the last three by Brian Bonin, to win 5-3. ``They're a good skating team,'' Gopher coach Doug Woog said. ``They're more suited for our rink than a lot of other teams.'' Woog is referring to speedy juniors Angelo Ricci and Jason Elders. Elders and Gopher Jeff Nielsen are tied for second in the conference with 26 goals, while Ricci has 28 assists as the center on Elders' line. They also boast a line of speedy European forwards, with Swedish center Erik Andersson centering Finns Petri Gunther and Antti Laaksonen. But Denver is beset by injuries, as it has been all year. Forward Brent Cary, the third forward on the Ricci-Elders line who has been dubbed the REC-ing Crew, underwent surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee Monday and is out for the season. Cary had missed most of last season after tearing the ACL in his right knee. Also, second-line center Brian Konowalchuk suffered a partially torn ACL two weeks ago and is out the remainder of the season. Konowalchuk is one of the Pioneers' top penalty killers and face-off men. And defenseman Paul Koch is listed as questionable for the series. Koch has not returned to the lineup since he broke his ankle Dec. 29. Minnesota will be bolstered by the return of defenseman Eric Means, who missed Saturday's 8-4 loss to St. Cloud State after suffering a concussion the previous night. Means helps key a power play that was just 2 of 18 last weekend. If the Gophers' power play improves, so should their luck. They will prevail in three games. Gopher notes: Here's a look at the other series in the WCHA playoffs: No. 10 Michigan Tech at No. 1 Colorado College: Tech has a standout goalie in Jamie Ram, giving it a chance for the upset in a short series. But the Tigers are tough at home, and are playing for a high NCAA seed. CC in three games. No. 8 North Dakota at No. 3 Wisconsin: The Sioux beat the Badgers twice this year in four games, but Wisconsin always plays its best hockey in March. Wisconsin in two. No. 7 Minnesota-Duluth at No. 4 St. Cloud State: The Huskies are the WCHA's best home team, losing only once in 18 games. UMD and Chris Marinucci may not have enough weapons to counter that. St. Cloud State in two. No. 6 Alaska Anchorage at No. 5 Northern Michigan: Healthy again, the host Wildcats are ready for another playoff run. Northern in three. Pam Sweeney Go Gophers!!! [log in to unmask] 1993 WCHA Playoff Champions!!! [log in to unmask] Ski-U-Mah!!!