Not too much ground-breaking info here, but it's the first article of the season about Gopher hockey, so I'll post it for those who want to read *something* about college hockey. -Pam From the Minnesota Daily today: Headline: Gophers hockey team hits the ice Publish Date: 10/04/1994 Matthew Cross Staff Reporter Minnesotans are known for their love of hockey. Without a professional team the Gophers are the No. 1 attraction on ice. Gophers coach Doug Woog officially started practice Monday at Mariucci Arena -- and he wasted little time in making his players work hard. "There was a lot of shooting at the goaltender," Woog said. "Everybody had a pretty good workout in terms of skill work, and that's what we wanted. It was a meaningful day." The Gophers ran numerous shooting and flow and movement drills over a 3 1/2 hour practice session in an attempt to get his players re-acclimated. The team had been skating together for the past two weeks, so the focus was on puck handling and shooting. Goaltenders Jeff Callinan and Jeff Moen tried to keep up with the fast-paced work out. They dove and crawled for much of the practice. Woog was impressed by his first-year class -- a group that entered the season free of intimidation. They even held their own during wrestling drill, an exercise that stresses the more physical part of the game. Players lock arms, almost as if they were fighting, and try to take the helmet off their opponent. "I didn't sense any guy to be nervous," Woog said. "We've been skating together, and that helped the younger guys be accepted." Woog foresees a few of the incoming skaters playing a key role on the team this year -- Edina's Casey Hankinson among them. Hankinson is the younger brother of Ben and Peter Hankinson, who both starred for past Gophers hockey teams. The Hankinson brothers accounted for 131 goals between them. Woog expects good things out of the youngest Hankinson as well. "He's a good player, and he's going to have a good career here," Woog said. Hankinson also has an interest in playing for the Gophers baseball team this spring. The hockey team had a rigorous summer that included lifting weights four times a week and running twice weekly. Checco also worked out this summer at the Olympic Festival, where he skated and kept in shape. "I wasn't ready for it," Checco said of the experience. "I was trying to stay in shape, and I wasn't focused on being too intense." As for the Gophers, Checco said it was nice to get back on the ice. "It's a little too soon, but it feels good," he said. "I'm a little sore, but it's a good sore." The Gophers will have intrasquad scrimmages on Friday and on Oct. 14. They open the season at Minnesota-Duluth on Oct. 21. Pam Sweeney Go Gophers!!! [log in to unmask] 1993 & 1994 WCHA Playoff Champions!!! 1994 NC$$ PHinal PHour!!! Ski-U-Mah!!!